This very powerful book may not be Morrison's best, but her exploration of the meaning of beauty in a country dominated by whites is fascinating. She follows the path of a young black girl who desperately yearns for blue eyes, but her dream is interrupted when her father impregnates her. The story takes place in the early 1960's before the Civil Rights movement, but it is a reminder of what happens when powerless children are taken advantage of, and when those children are Black how the results can be particularly egregious. Both are issues totally relevant today.

My only criticism is that the character of Pecola, the little girl who wants blue eyes, is not as fully realized as many of the other characters are. She feels more like a symbol than a real person.

What we think is beautiful has a huge impact on how we value one another and has always been tied closely to racism and the need to make the other unattractive. This comes across brilliantly in Morrison's debut novel.