I read this book twice because I was too confused after the first time. I think I now get the themes and messages better but I do have some questions(you don’t have to answer, they‘re just questions that came up for me while reading): Why did Sula leave after Nel’s wedding, without even telling her at least where she was going? What is the significance of Eva’s house? She builds it after great sacrifice but ends up burning her son there, watches her daughter burn there, Sula dies there, tar baby’s looking to die there; and yet it houses many people who don’t necessarily have it bad like the newlyweds. But again the only family member who seems to have it okay left the house at a young age to get married and live a simple stable life, Pearl. There’s a point in Sula’s solo adventure where it’s mentioned she’s looking for sorrow and misery, but it’s also mentioned that she was looking for friendship. I see why the latter brought her back to the bottom but I don’t understand the former. Why sorrow, I thought she was unapologetic about her lack of emotions from her traumatic experiences. Why was teapot called that? What was Sula’s infatuation with Ajax. It says she was beginning to feel possessiveness, not love. Was it just because he asked questions about her and was a decent conversationalist? As this to show that just as she couldn’t grow roots in him and change his ways no matter how much she fucked him, Sula could also not be changed no matter how much her mother, Eva, Nel or the people of the bottom tried to? What’s the point of the Dewey’s? Did Eva curse them by implying they wouldn’t need individuality and so they only grew to the expectations set out for them. Was this to symbolise the people of the Bottom? When Eva tells Nel that she’s going to be sick was this foreshadowing that long cry and regret at the end? Overall this book was very sad. Extremely layered and incredibly written but very, very sad. I was really not prepared for how heavy it would be. I also added Beloved to my reading list but I think I need a break from dark themes for a bit. I really enjoyed the description of the Bottom’s culture and communal approaches to wrongdoing and evil. The characters were unique and complex in their own ways but I didn’t expect the neighbourhood to also have its own unique character. It’s like they didn’t particularly like each other but they understood that they were all they had so stuck together anyways. It’s unfortunate that everyone went their separate ways after the gentrification, there’s a point when Nel says “Hell is change”. But I also think they needed to see what lay beyond their immediate neighbourhood and town. I guess it’s another lesson on trade offs; in order to find new experiences and get exposure, you need to let go of what’s known to you, what’s familiar. The cost is great and only you can determine if it’s worth it. Eva, Sula and Nel learned that. submitted by /u/flyawaywithmeee [link] [comments]