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Ben Siems's Reviews > Native Son

Native Son by Richard Wright
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it was amazing

My older brother Larry, who is extremely well-read, recently came to town for a visit. He had with him a copy of Native Son. I asked what prompted him to re-read it. He explained that he had actually never read it before, which he confessed was really odd, given that the book is an undisputed classic.

Well, here is Larry's two-word review of the book:
Holy shit.

I concur.

Those who have studied the Harlem Renaissance know that Richard Wright was a passionate, angry man, the writer about whom other African American writers of his era would say, "Well, I'd never write THAT, but I'm glad someone did." Native Son is a brutally frank look at the racial divide of the America of the 1930s, and the relevance to today is positively painful.

There have been many profound and moving stories, both true and fictionalized, of young black men wrongfully accused of crimes. This book dares to tell the story of a young black man who, in a moment of panic, commits a horrible act. That makes the way the man is treated thereafter so incredibly present and real. You can't read this story from a distance. You're in it, you feel it so palpably.

I think Native Son is one of the most powerful and important American books ever written.
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Reading Progress

Finished Reading
December 26, 2007 – Shelved

Comments Showing 1-31 of 31 (31 new)

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Brooke Holy shit, indeed!


message 2: by Jason Williams (last edited Jul 12, 2009 02:54AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Jason Williams I concur. Then, you watch footage of protesters being soaked by fire hoses 15 years later and you gotta wonder how many people actually read Native Son.


message 3: by Ben (last edited Jul 12, 2009 07:23AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ben Siems Jason Williams wrote: "I concur. Then, you watch footage of protesters being soaked by fire hoses 15 years later and you gotta wonder how many people actually read Native Son."

That's for sure. I only wish I felt that the percentage of Americans who have read the book had substantially increased since then.




Weinz Perfect.


Dooflow I just read it for the first time at 41. I read Baldwin at too young of an age and just always felt like I didn't need to read Wright. Same reaction: Holy Shit!


Stephanie Eastwood I really liked your review, Ben. Thanks. Finally read Wright myself this year, at age 53.


Brooke Pretty sure it's during the '30's since it was published in 1940, but "Holy Shit" is right.


message 8: by Ben (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ben Siems Thanks for the correction. While it is true that Wright's work on the original version of Native Son spilled into 1940, and that variations and expansions were the author's primary project well into 1941 (including a dramatic version that ran on Broadway, mid-1941 through 1942), your criticism is accurate and appreciated. Wright wrote the bulk of the novel in 1939, while under a Guggenheim Fellowship he received for Uncle Tom's Children.


message 9: by Jean (new)

Jean required reading in high school,but that was so long ago I can't even remember it!! Just begun reading it again...


Muriel Levine Gonna read it right now!!!!


Torri Coco Agreed.


Ebonie Brewster Holy Shit is spot on. This book has always been on numerous reading lists during my high school days, however, I never really gravitated towards it. Now that I am in my 30's and more conscious of my African American history, this book found me. I guess back then, I wasn't ready to receive the message, but man, it was worth the wait, while at the same time, I am pissed off that it took me this long to read such a powerful and extremely prophetic book.


message 13: by Kim (new) - rated it 5 stars

Kim Roers soderstrom There were times I could not read another word because I could feel what was about to happen. I was so invested in this book, I thought maybe if I didn't read it then Bigger would be ok.


message 15: by Youmpkang (new) - added it

S. Bapkek  Youmpkang Holy shit is right


Lillian I just finished. My stomach actually hurts.


Rachael Sloan Insightful, thought-provoking and so sad. That b*stard Buckley鈥檚 summing up was painful to read.


message 18: by Gayla (new)

Gayla Marks You鈥檙e right, it is a classic. I also suggest 鈥楯ust Mercy鈥�. Another 鈥榟oly sh**鈥� book that will leave you even more unsettled because it鈥檚 non-fiction and, in my view, on its way to becoming a classic.


Kimberly Simon well said! your review starting with "HOly鈥�" is right on!!!


Marianne Nailed it...enough said!!


Derek Nice review. Great book. Also bowled over by the power of Black Boy.


Brady Jones Not sure I鈥檝e ever read a more spot-on review of a book, so kudos to you on that. I agree with all this 100%.


Britney Kim, I know what you mean. I鈥檓 reading it right now for a class, and I keep putting it down because I know what鈥檚 coming for him. I鈥檓 so glad that our prof assigned it because I may not have read it otherwise. Excellent review as well!


Connie  Schiff when i had read 30 pages or so, I said to my adult daughter "i don't think I can read this". But not being one to not finish once i start, i read on.......... and finished. like previous review my response is "HOLY SHIT"


message 25: by Myra (new)

Myra Elliott This book is gut wrenching and breath taking. The writing is a powerful rendering of a very angry young man who feels so many conflicting emotions. He is achingly alert to an unbearable reality that for this reader was palpable. Not a book I will forget.


Kimberly Simon Yep. Same feeling after I read it. Unbelievable complex and could fill conversations, debates, and deep thoughts for a whole college course.


Callie Yes, I 100% agree. One of the most powerful and important books ever written. Borne out of such pain and fury. You can't turn away. You are forced to face the truth about our nation.


Jason Yup, I loved this! I'm going to have to read "Black Boy" next.


Steve Carter I just finished this morning.
Yes! This book is particularly outstanding.
I鈥檓 70 years old and have read a lot of fiction including all of Dreiser. I say that because it is easy to get blown away by any book if one doesn鈥檛 read and that An American Tragedy is an earlier novel that kept coming to mind. It is basically the same kind of story with the exact authorial intent. Basically, 鈥渋t ain鈥檛 the guy, this compelled by circumstance individual, at blame here. It all of us for letting these exploitive and maddening socioeconomic systems drag on.
Dreiser鈥檚 novel is from 1925 and written by a Midwest German immigrant type. Native Son 1939 by a black souther with that horrible background. Native Son on one level reads as a hard core crime novel like the other that emerged from The Great Depression, Dreiser brutal scenes are more polite the rough 30s stuff was just in short pants still, and pop was working.
I came to this via Algren鈥� Morning Never Come which is really great as well. They were Chicago CP comrades.


thebleauway Well said.


message 31: by E.R. (new) - rated it 4 stars

E.R. Miller An incredibly powerful book. Well said.


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