PARADISE

Toni Morrison's PARADISE is a paradox, sometimes difficult to follow but always elegantly written (and read). It opens in rural Oklahoma in the '70's, with nine black men killing four women in a den of evil they call the "convent," though it is far from that. At that point, the novel flashes backward to record how the killers and the killed got to that place in their highly varied and difficult lives. Lynne Thigpen is marvelous, a compelling narrator. Her soft yet commanding voice matches perfectly with Morrison's exquisite prose. Dramatically low-key, Thigpen nonetheless manages to inspire interest in this occasionally laborious book. But it must be said, PARADISE is not for everyone. T. H. © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 99]