Sula

Toni Morrison

Sula by Toni Morrison tells the friendship of Sula and Nel in the hills above the valley town of Medallion, Ohio, a small neighborhood known as the Bottom where black residents form a tight-knit community. The Bottom is home to Nel Wright and Sula Peace, two girls whose friendship is solidified by the burden of a horrendous secret. Nel is an accepted figure in the community, content with the status quo and the confines of a life as mother and wife. Young Sula, by stark contrast, enjoys the neatness of Nel’s parents’ house and finds it a comforting opposite to the dirty, cluttered conditions of her own home where her mother – known around town for being loose with men adheres to a lax method of parenting. As an adult, Sula challenges the status quo with her anarchistic ways, free of the rules for women established by men. Once grown, they remain guardians of that secret, but an act of betrayal threatens to terminate their friendship forever

Morrison’s writing is untouchable and she is unflinching in her depictions of racism, violence, abuse, and illness within this novel. A story that is unforgettable and will have you question oneself pertaining to the life we live. A classic in its own right and is quoted to be one of Morrison’s less complex novel. Powerful, thought-provoking, and profound, but told through such compelling, yet flawed, characters. A must read!