A review by clarkg
The Street by Ann Petry

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

If you are looking for a story about overcoming adversity a la "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn", this is not it. Told primarily from the perspective of Lutie Johnson, a single mother trying to improve her circumstances in 1940s Harlem, "The Street" explores how the ceaseless structural barriers presented to low-income Black Americans shape their decisions, relationships, and imaginations. Ann Petry is undoubtedly one of the great New England writers and her sharp, insightful, and masterfully descriptive prose are central to this book's stellar execution. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail