Paradise

Paradise is a 1998 novel by Toni Morrison, and her first since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. According to the author, Paradise completes a "trilogy" that begins with Beloved (1987) and includes Jazz (1992). Paradise was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection for January 1998 and ranked in the BlackBoard Bestsellers List the following August. Morrison wanted to call the novel War but was overridden by her editor. Plot The novel is structured into nine sections. The first is named "Ruby" after the town on which the book centers. The rest are named for women implicated variously in the life of the town and the Convent. The Convent women are Mavis, Grace (known as "Gigi"), Seneca, Divine (whose name is actually "Pallas"), and Consolata (also known as "Connie"). The Ruby women – or children, in the case of Save-Marie – are Patricia and Lone. Though the chapters are named for specific characters, in telling their stories, Morrison tells the parallel histories of the town of Ruby and the Convent 17 miles south of it, and how the men of Ruby become intent on destroying the Convent women.