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It took me more than a month to get through this book for a lot of reasons, but not because it isn’t good. The stereotypes Wright used to illustrate the conditions within which the characters exist caused internal protestations- the poorly educated, unfocused angry protagonist, his religious mother, his low level criminal posse, the wealthy whites soothing their consciences through charity towards the caste they exploit... Later it got even worse with the demagoguery of the district attorney. But then it became clear that having them writ large allows Max the attorney to more clearly expose the systemic racism on which American society is built. His defense in the Court is an unjaded, clear-eyed review of how our racial lines are drawn and what it means to the soul of the nation. Max’s plea was disregarded because of course all the powers that be do exist, but at least it was aired and recorded. Wright holds up a mirror, an image of who we really are that we still need to respond to.