by Happy writer

Created on: April 27, 2008

Comparing Paradise by Toni Morrison to a food that sums it up

I believe that I've tried to read a Toni Morrison novel before but for some reason, probably age, gave up not long into it. Although confused as hell I worked my way through the first chapter of Paradise determined to rise to the occasion this time. I must say I was beginning to feel a little insecure, wondering if my IQ was high enough for this novel. As I finished the second chapter I was hooked like a fish on a rod sighing with relief that my intellect was up to the challenge ahead. Because of Paradise's epic cast, at times this story was a challenge. Figuring out who belonged to which family? Which family did what? What happened when? Where the hell was I heading? And did I change my underwear this morning? Periodically, It felt like I was traveling through wormholes only to have new ones open up yet slowly and assuredly all these questions were answered by Morrison's great penmanship. Needless to say, I loved this read.

Much of the African American diet in the 17th Century was born out of scraps, left overs, unwanted parts of food that the Africans like scientists were able to turn into something not only nutritious but also down right delicious. Yet Okra was born where they were, in Africa, and was brought to America via the slave trade route. Okra is a vegetable appreciated for it's glue like quality that thickens broth. It is also known as gumbo or kingumbo. Today when we think of gumbo, Southern seafood/meat/vegetable stews might come to mind, but gumbo originally refers to the sticky texture born from the okra plant. Okra is quite amazing. It is a survivor that can withstand great amounts of heat and drought, but frost can be the end of it. With the opening line of Paradise, "They shot the white girl first ...," a chill is felt, the coldness is palpable. We read on to find out whether like okra this is the beginning of the end.

Paradise is the story/history of an all black fictional town called Ruby, founded by nine families in 1949. Moving from their forefathers crumbling town of Haven and facing humiliating ostracism from communities of lighter skin blacks, they founded the town of Ruby far away from anything. There, they imposed a political social system of their own which, with hard work and time, prospered into a self sufficient economy. No member of this community went without. Crime, racial discrimination and waywardness were foreign to this place ... or so it seems, until slowly the

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