653. Sula

Sula
Toni Morrison
1973
Around 175 pages

This is Toni Morrison's second published novel, and her second entry on the List. If we end up reading all of her works, I wouldn't be too upset about it, although my soul will definitely feel heavier. I didn't enjoy this quite as much as The Bluest Eye, but it's still an impressive follow up on her debut novel.

I suppose our protagonist is Nel Wright, who is best friends with Sula. Even though neither girl has a father figure, they both have very different home lives. Nel's mother Helene is rigid and conventional, while Sula's mother Hannah is eccentric and sleeps around. Nel and Sula share traumatic life events together, but take separate paths as adults. 

I don't want to spoil any events in this novel, some of which are incredibly shocking. Personally, I enjoy the strange twists and turns of her stories. She always keeps the plot moving. Still, I didn't connect to these characters as I have with her other novels. I don't need characters to be angels to enjoy a novel, but when everybody is constantly making amoral decisions, it makes it hard to care about the outcomes of their stories. 

So this book might end up on the bottom of my Morrison ranking when the time comes, but it's still worthy of a read.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

In 2022, it was reported that HBO will adapt the novel into a television limited series.

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