Uncle Tom's Children

Name: Uncle Tom's Children
Brand: Harper Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Richard Wright
ISBN: 9780063004238

Author: Richard Wright

Narrator: Adam Lazarre-White

Unabridged: 9 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Caedmon

Published: 08/11/2020

Categories: Fiction, Short Stories, African American & Black Fiction, Literary Fiction

Synopsis

""A formidable and lasting contribution to American literature."" —Chicago TribuneOriginally published in 1938, Uncle Tom's Children, a collection of novellas, was the first book from Richard Wright, who would go on to win international renown for his powerful and visceral depiction of the Black experience. The author of numerous works of fiction and nonfiction, most notably the acclaimed novel Native Son and his stunning autobiography, Black Boy, Wright stands today as one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century.Set in the American Deep South, each of the powerful and devastating stories in Uncle Tom's Children concerns an aspect of the lives of Black people in the post-slavery era, exploring their resistance to white racism and oppression. The collection also includes a personal essay by Wright titled ""The Ethics of Living Jim Crow.""

About Richard Wright

Born in 1908 near Roxie, Mississippi, Richard Wright won international renown for his powerful and visceral depictions of the Black experience. The author of numerous works, he stands today as one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century. Black Boy and his novel Native Son are required reading in many high schools and colleges across the nation. Wright died in 1960 in Paris, France.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Shauna on June 03, 2016

I really enjoyed reading this. As it dealt with racism it was certainly depressing, but it was also very captivating and powerful. It takes a lot for me to enjoy short stories, so me getting invested in this so quickly is a big deal. But I prefer novels above all else and in the end I wasn't quite a......more

Goodreads review by Clayton on March 03, 2022

Beautifully written. I could never imagine the pain and strife felt by the characters, but the way in which Wright writes makes my heart hurt for the terrible way the African Americans were treated. This is one of the first books I’ve read where the main characters are continually bombarded with str......more

Goodreads review by Sean on August 01, 2020

Brutal. A short story collection for Black Lives Matter from 1938. I do not understand why this book is not better known or more discussed. Wright's project here is to awaken whites to the reality of Black lives in the Jim Crow south. It's the literary equivalent of videos of police beatings and mur......more

Goodreads review by Tommy on September 13, 2016

It starts with an essay describing Richard Wright's personal education in the South's Jim Crow laws and then we see them play out in five gut-wrenching stories. There's a slight repetitiveness to it since you have individual stories and each one inevitably arrives to racist, violent acts. In particu......more