Paradise has (thus far) been my only Toni Morrison book, and I won't let it be my last. The language within the novel is deep, luxuriant, and intoxicating. Morrison is one of those rare authors whose prose can distract from a plot that at times is slow or confusing, but never just bad. In Paradise the writing is not the only asset that is extremely unique to Morrison, but her rich and almost too-detailed character relations and backgrounds often make for fiction that seems to be only described as history. The layers upon layers of conflict, corruption and greed are treats to the brain usually only found in cable television with multiple writers and decent actors, not just one woman with a brilliant mind and creative heart. While her language and characters are magnificent, my personal problem with Paradise is the at-times vague direction of the plot. While the bulk of the book does unapologetically (and deservedly so) become an observation of the community and its relations, it faces the plight of sub-plots that seem unfinished, twists that rattle one's suspension of belief towards the novel's end and some lengths of stories from the women that seem uneven compared to the rest. These minor details do not detract from the book as a whole, and despite them I'm still excited to read more from Morrison.