Native Son

Rating:
Summary: Captivating and thought provoking
Review: While reading this novel for my english class, I was completely enthralled by its captivating story line, quick paced dialogue, and thought-provoking philosphy. I cannot recall another time, when I was actually hoping a serial murderer would be freed. Restricted by the racist society he lives in, Bigger murders in order to free himself from the metaphoric chains of his life. The court scene was truly the most agrivating for me. Brutally verbally attacked in court, Bigger is oppressed and ultimatly...well, you need to find out for yourself. Although the minor characters were a little underdeveloped and Bigger's thoughts and emotions were too complex for such a poorly educated man, the book was sensational. I definitly recommend reading it- it was the best novel we read all year.

Rating:
Summary: Native Son should be a required high school text
Review: Reading Native Son made me feel the harsh life that African Americans experienced during the 1930's. I thought that reading this book really hit me between the eyes and changed the way I think on issues of race. The book was by far more powerful than any diversity training session that my company has sent me through.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing literature that will open your eyes and awaken you
Review: This book has an amazing plot and it will definitly keep you awake! Not recomended for week stomachs however. Many grusome details, but it is truly the reality of young boy caught up in his emothions. There is also a 20 page testimony of one man talking near the end. That takes a while to get through. This book is not for young children.

Rating:
Summary: essential text
Review: an extrememly important text that needs to be read. grat intergratoin on behalf of the author with theory and producing a interesting text in the process. the third part brings the text down with its didactic tone but aside from that it is a great book. wright's influences shine through on this one. tones of existentialism emerge and Poe resonates int eh first and second books. it is not only about the hardships faced by the african american at the turn and middle of the 20th century, rather how an indivudiual must fight and yet deceive oneself in order to function in society. it is also a great book for political science, sociology and pre-law types due to the fact it shouws the influecne of environment upon the individual.

Rating:
Summary: Despair and Bigger
Review: "He closed his mouth and swallowed. Should he catch the cat and kill it and put it in the furnace, too?" I wonder if I'd scoured the book for an hour I could have found a more appropriate quotation. Sometimes just flipping to a random page and pointing can do the trick. I think that if you feel as though you have been afforded a 'lot' in life, Wright's struggle through Bigger Thomas will connect with you. The beauty of the novel is that when it's all over, you see that it doesn't have to be that way.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, yet offensive.
Review: I found Native Son an interesting short story, yet I was offended by the violence and the foul language which seemed to be littered throughout the book.

Rating:
Summary: outstanding. a piece of art of african american literature
Review: Richard Wright gives life to bigger thomas only to let us know about the cruelty of slavery in Dixie. He wrote this book also to inform the reader about the official oppresion of the Amerian society in those days.On the other hand,his life experiences in the south and in the urban Chicago marked his path toward the current of existentialism. Every human being should read this book. This is what I call pure LITERATURE.

Rating:
Summary: Not recommended for reading during holiday
Review: I bought Richard Wright's novel when I was on vacation in Chicago, trying to get a better insight into the past and present of this city. From the very first pages, this book totally grasped my mind, I was fascinated and at the same time shattered by the course of events. At times, I could not find my way out of Bigger's head, which left me sleepless some nights, worrying about how anything could have prevented the horrible story from starting. I put it down after a few days and left the rest for later (after vacation), because this book is a great work of literature but it certainly is no "light" reading. It is a scaring trip into the mind of a person we otherwise wouldn't understand at all. After having finished the book, I still cannot understand Bigger, but now I can "feel" part of him. Very recommended for non-Americans, who are not that close with the history of racism against black people. - I have to admit that some passages are somewhat long-drawn-out, thus only four stars.

Rating:
Summary: Eye opening but boring novel
Review: This novel is worth reading as it describes the hardships on blacks in the early 1900s. It is somewhat touching but it is really boring and I fell asleep through it many many times. I had to get a copy of Clff Notes to help me get through it.

Rating:
Summary: Bad writing
Review: As a social-political event, this book is worth reading, but as a piece of literature it's awful. The language is moribund; all the characters' emotions are described outright instead of revealed; the plot is slow and plodding; the communist sections are tendentious. The book is dated and overrated as literature. It isn't literature at all, but something of an artless manifesto, as James Baldwin aptly described it years later.