Tar Baby

From Library Journal

Recorded Books expands the Morrison audiobook collection by revisiting the Nobel prize winner's early works. Her debut novel, The Bluest Eye, explores the impact of racism and poverty on adolescent Pecola Breedlove. Surrounded by images of white iconsDShirley Temple, Mary Jane, and the classic family from Dick & Jane readersDPecola is tormented by both her family and peers. Alcoholism, rape, and humiliation drive her into the relative safety of madness where she finally finds the only bit of self-worth, believing her eyes are truly the bluest. In 1981's Tar Baby, Morrison deals with a different set of cruelties. The six major characters are her most diverse, and the conflicts are both realistic and symbolic, embodying the opposition of wealth and poverty, youth and age, male and female, black and white, in a microcosm of society found on a Caribbean island. Lynne Thigpen again expertly captures the richness of the author's characters, descriptions, and language. These two new releases are important to any collection of current American social fiction.DJoyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo, NY Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile

An unlikely combination of people living on a Caribbean island tries to sort out their relationships with each other. Only Toni Morrison could imagine such a group and the dynamics it generates. Lynne Thigpen's measured tones and smoky voice capture the tropical pace of the story. While most of her characters are not dramatized, they are clearly identifiable. It's a bit disconcerting to hear a former beauty queen from Maine's Aroostook County and a retired Philadelphia business leader speaking with a pronounced Southern dialect, but they are at least consistent. Thigpen brings both insight and resignation to the layers of complexity Morrison creates for each character. R.P.L. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine