Reviews

i honestly was so bored with the writing. i decided to give it a try on audiobook 10 years later. actually i enjoyed it more but it really does drop from like 55-75% of the book. i also don't think i enjoy courtroom dramas so the trial scene was a bit of a snore. phenomenal book and message for the time it was released however.

sydtravis's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nicolemkscott's review against another edition

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5.0

This made me reset my entire perspective on everything. Bigger was a victim of a systemic society, that caused him to be undermined and not allowed to fulfill any of his cravings. He was terrified for his whole life, watching white people kill black people every day, expected to just sit back and be good and kind while the world has been nothing but unkind to him.

This book was phenomenal. It was powerful, and frustrating, and everything that I had hoped from it. I won't think I'll see the world the same after this.

ninithechild's review against another edition

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4.0

I read this for a class and wrote a major essay on it. (A-, in case anyone was curious). It was dark, gruesome and honestly really eye-opening in terms of racism.

casebounder's review against another edition

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4.0

I have a terrible memory. It often takes me a minute to remember what I did the weekend before last. Trying to recall now what I read in freshman high school English class, I can't. But I do remember Ms. Finney's class my sophomore year. I remember reading Native Son and I remember having a bit of a breakthrough during our classroom analysis of a particular scene. I remember how jittery I got to share, to anxiously release my idea. And I remember Ms. Finney's face as a quiet new student got excited about literature.

Native Son will always be special to me because of that day in English class. But it is, of course, so special to our culture due to Richard Wright's great vision and daring. Bigger Thomas is a character trapped by ugly circumstance, mostly by the pure chance of being born poor and black in 1930's America. He is also a fairly unlikeable man guilty of a heinous crime. Through this story, Wright challenges each reader to look deeper into complex American systems, at how they consistently fail some and elevate others. This 1940 novel is a tough read, and it's unfortunately no less relevant today than it was decades ago.

Since I decided to reread it, I wanted to get this handsome Harper Perennial Olive Edition for my bookshelf. Happy I was able to find this specific ISBN online from a favorite independent bookstore - Portland, Oregon's Powell's City of Books!

leslielovesbooks's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

washed_guapi_lee's review against another edition

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3.0

2.5
I never fucked with this book. The 2nd half is a chore. I've read it twice.

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