A review by neolx
Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in a Divided Nation by John Freeman

challenging informative sad slow-paced

4.0

This was a challenging but important read, and not what I was expecting. I feel this is largely inaccessible to most readers, as the short fiction and poems are literary and opaque. The nonfiction pieces are brief (apart from Karen Russell's, which was one of my favorite entries) and more to the point. That being said, I was impressed and moved by most of the entries in some way, particularly, the entries by Anthony Doerr, Edwidge Danticat, Claire Vaye Watkins, Hector Tobar, Nami Mun, Rebecca Solnit, Julia Alvarez, Kiese Laymon, RS Deeren, Patricia Engel, and Richard Russo. Some of the entries felt less effective or unrealistic, even self-indulgent, and I questioned why they were included in this anthology, particularly the entries by Joyce Carol Oates, Eula Biss, and Roxane Gay. Apart from the educational and emotional impact of this collection, it also allowed me to sample many writers I have been meaning to read, as well as many I had never heard of (I've already bought books by several of the writers after starting this).