Native Son, Richard Wright
Native Son, Richard Wright
48 Rating(s)
List: $34.99 | Sale: $24.50
Club: $17.49

Native Son

Author: Richard Wright

Narrator: Peter Francis James

Unabridged: 17 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Caedmon

Published: 04/28/2009


Synopsis

One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels“If one had to identify the single most influential shaping force in modern Black literary history, one would probably have to point to Wright and the publication of Native Son.” – Henry Louis Gates Jr.""The most powerful American novel to appear since The Grapes of Wrath."" —The New YorkerWhen it was first published in 1940, Native Son established Richard Wright as a literary star. In the decades since, Wright's masterpiece—hailed by Newsweek as ""a novel of tremendous power and beauty""—has become a revered classic that remains as timely and relevant today as when it first appeared.Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Native Son is the story of Bigger Thomas, a young Black man caught in a downward spiral after killing a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Written with the distinctive rhythm of a modern crime story, this formidable work is both a condemnation of social injustice and an unsparing portrait of the Black experience in America, revealing the tragic effect of poverty, racism, and hopelessness on the human spirit. ""I wrote Native Son to show what manner of men and women our 'society of the majority' breeds, and my aim was to depict a character in terms of the living tissue and texture of daily consciousness,"" Wright explained.

About Richard Wright

Richard Wright won international renown for his powerful and visceral depiction of the black experience. He stands today alongside such African-American luminaries as Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison, and two of his books, Native Son and Black Boy, are required reading in high schools and colleges across the nation. He died in 1960.

About Peter Francis James

Peter Francis James has starred in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway productions, as well as on such television programs as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, New York Undercover and State of Affairs.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ben on December 21, 2021

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 classi......more

Goodreads review by Emily May on August 27, 2022

How can law contradict the lives of millions of people and hope to be administered successfully? I went on quite the journey with this book. It's not often that I have so many ups and downs with a read-- generally, if I like or dislike a book for the first, say, 25%, that is not likely to change......more

Goodreads review by Matthew on December 10, 2018

This book is extremely powerful. I saw another review saying that they could not believe this was written and released in 1940. I agree - as I can only imagine how controversial the content would have been at that time. And, even today it touches so closely on some of the topics you see in the news......more

Goodreads review by Fabian on September 27, 2020

(SPOILERS!) Reading the first 2 parts of "Native Son," Richard Wright's landmark novel is an absolute thrill. One part Tom Ripley, one part Graham Greene's "Brighton Rock," the antihero always reigns triumphant. But this antihero lacks panache, intelligence, even, perhaps, a conscience... all the ch......more