Rating: 
Summary: flawed but powerful
Review: Richard Wright's reputation seems to rest on two books - "Native Son" and "Black Boy." While the later book is better written and in every way the product of a writer in complete possession of his craft, it may be the former book that is more powerful and important.
While "Black Boy" is a fictionalized retelling of Wright's own life, "Native Son" tells an archetypal story of an African American who strikes out at white society by committing murder. On the one hand, we disapprove of what Bigger Thomas does but we can't completely condemn him either. The problem is that his actions are partially a result of the oppression under which he - and all African Americans - has had to live all his life.
It's interesting to compare the book to two works on similar themes - John Fowles "The Collector" and Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment." All three works deal with murder of women but in each case the emphasis is different. For the great Russian novelist, the import is moral, for the Englishman it's socioeconomic and for Wright it's race. I don't mean to suggest that these elements don't coexist in several of these stories, but in each case the respective author means to point out one specific element over the others. This gives the reader a fascinating look at the nature of crime and makes us question both what punishment would be fair and how to mitigate such future violence.
Wright's book works best when he lets his character, Bigger, speak for himself. However, the author can't seem to help inserting much of his own voice. This becomes most intrusive during the last section "Fate," in which you can almost see Wright - in the character of Max - walk onto the stage and grandstand. While this makes the meaning of the book painfully clear, you really should have understood him hundreds of pages earlier. I suppose this ending courtroom drama is a product of the book's times. Wright wanted to make sure he was understood in an area where he could easily have been misread. However, a dose of ambiguity - as we get in spades in "Black Boy" - would have been helpful.
Also, much has been made of the debt Wright and Baldwin owe each other. However, for me, the author that Wright seems to be channeling most is Poe. The gruesome murders, the cat pointing to the evidence of the crime, etc. - all points to the great American horror writer.
In sum, "Native Son" is a powerful and insightful book about race relations in the United States. Anyone with an interest in this subject (or perhaps I should say "any American or person with an interest in America") should read this book - warts and all. Then read "Black Boy" to see how much Wright developed as an author and how his views deepened.
Rating: 
Summary: Great time piece
Review: I complete the restored text version of this book and was completely engaged. I found Wright's writing style to be captivating, and character descriptions were thorough. I especially liked the fact that while I didn't agree with Bigger's thoughts and decisions, I could actually see the conflicts and struggles within himself. I could see, if not totally understand, his decisions. I think is great writing when I'm able to experience that through the characters of a book. A great book and a great voice of his time.
Rating:
Summary: A great story about a young african american boy.
Review: I thought this book about Bigger Thomas was very interesting. It had many great points about how people should be treated. It tells us what happened back in the 1930s and how prejudice changed the way people thought about each other as a consequence of being different colors. It should teach us that if someone is a different color, that person should be able to have the same rights as anyone else. This book changed the way I felt about what happened back in the 1930s. It showed me that times were worse than I expected. Racism should never be an issue, which resulted in the separation of people throughout the U.S. for many years.
I had to read this book with an English class that I am attending. All of us in the group thought that this book told a great story and that no one should use race as a matter of having different rights. It did not let different color people have the same rights. Our group changed the way we thought about the 1930s and now we think that what people did back then was horrifying and we should try to never have this happen again.
Rating: 
Summary: boring
Review: sure this tells us all about racism and how it affects people, but this book is so BORING... i slept 3 or 4 times trying to read it. The end is the worst, its like 40 pgs of a lawyer talking and then the State.
-dont read it unless you have to
Rating:
Summary: Killer finds spiritual redemption through communism
Review: NATIVE SON is divided into three sections, "Fear," "Flight" and "Fate." The first two sections are written in an original, sensational and masterful voice. NATIVE SON is steeped in the Realistic American style of Theodore Dreiser. It tells the story of a young black man who, because of his fear of whites, accidentally commits a murder. He finds this crime on some levels an exhilarating experience and then makes other choices that damn him even further. The "Fate" section takes place after Bigger is taken into custody. At this point what had been fresh and original becomes the purple rhetoric of communist propaganda. The language of propaganda is cliché and the trial scene parades one cliché after and another before the reader. I think this was a tragic misstep on the part of the author. He ruined his book. While I zipped through the first two thirds in record time (I actually had to put the book down a few times because it was TOO intense!), the last third was rough going because I'd heard it all before. I read the first two-thirds in a little over a week. It took me nearly two weeks to plow through part three. Of course, the book was published in 1940. Pioneering works often are regarded as cliches after many years simply because they are imitated so much. That may be the case here. I really don't know. I give "Fear" and "Flight" five stars, but "Fate" gets two stars, so let's average the score to FOUR STARS. Even though the book is seriously flawed, the good parts are brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Wouldn't be the best thing
Review: So I had to read the book, as an assignment in my english class. I really don't recommend anyone to read the introduction of the book. The introduction is garbage, it talks about why the author wrote the book, So I skipped a few pages in it. Bigger committed a few murders, big deal!
The book didn't get interesting till the end where Bigger Thomas was at the court room with Max. Max did put up a good fight and stood by Bigger throughout the whole thing. I think the true stars of the book were Max and Jan. Jan because he wasn't mad at Bigger for casting blame on him and Max because he treated Bigger like a human, and totally out shunned the State Attorney.
The book showed the oppression of blacks throughout the 1940's, yes the book was hella boring but it thought a good lesson, treat people with respect!
Rating:
Summary: Simply Powerful
Review: This book is truly one of Richard Wright's greatest works of fiction. This book describes how African- American's ( in the story an A.A. young man) is the prouduct of one's society. every African-American should read this heart wretching story. Not only is it a great work of fiction, but it is a great work of truth. Richard Wright cause America to look at the truth and stop hiding behind what is a figment of our imagination. I highly recommend this book to you. It most definately should be in your library. This book should be read by all people every where. Listen to the message that Wright is preaching to America. Listen to the message and receive the message.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful Appeal
Review: Author Richard Wright (1908-60) was a master of description, and he captures the feel of Chicago and our often cold-shouldered society in this bitter 1940 classic. It's the story of Bigger Thomas, a self-loathing young black man that accidentally kills a white coed, and then kills again in an effort to evade detection. Bigger is hardly sympathetic, but his tragic hand is forced in part by racism. It's as if the author is saying, "Your injustices helped create Bigger Thomas!" Wright's gripping (if contrived) treatment of Bigger's trial indicts such peripheral characters as Mr. Dalton, a supposedly decent man that funds Negro charities - but only after fleecing blacks in the rental market. Readers come away understanding the cruelties of racial injustice, and comprehending why Wright might have named his character Bigger. Some say this classic was loosely based on a 1938 killing on the city's South Side. NATIVE SON is rather wordy in its last chapters, and many dislike the author's pro-communism - naïve sentiments Wright later dropped after learning more about Stalinist Russia. Despite these minor flaws, this classic is gripping, persuasive, and probably Wright's best work.
Rating:
Summary: Great Story, Less than Great Philosophy
Review: This is one of the best stories I have ever read. As I read the book, I felt myself somehow tied to the main character, Bigger. I cheered for him, was ashamed with him, and I had a hard time putting the book down because it was so enthralling. It was great to be able to feel a part of a life that was so different than my own. The culture of Bigger Thomas is something very foreign to me, and I appreciated being able to feel like I was in his shoes. Richard Wright is undoubtedly a great writer, and I am looking forward to reading more of his books, enjoying his stories and trying to understand his ideas that seem so illogical to me. The story was improbable is some parts, and I think the author sacrificed reality for the philosophy that he was pushing. This didn't take away from the suspense or interest of the story. Though the story was great, the author had some ideological axes to grind that were very evident in this novel. At first, I felt his agenda was race (the oppression of blacks). Then I felt his agenda was politics (the greatness of socialism). But I think his agenda goes even farther than those two issues, the agenda has roots much deeper than race and politics. The issue at hand is a worldview issue, in which Richard Wright tries to show the supremacy of the individual over anything else (society, religion, race) but in his world, the individual is powerless to the society. I believe Wright has given too much credit and power to society. In the book, Bigger Thomas is portrayed as a puppet in the hands of a white-controlled society. Though society is undoubtedly influential, in no way can it control individuals in the way that the main character, Bigger, was controlled in this book. Richard Wright is living proof that society is not supreme, for he wrote books that were definitely not wanted by the society that he thinks hates him and his ideas. In my opinion, this ideology is the easy way out. Blame goes on everyone but self, and the individual is justified in making poor, selfish, and destructive decisions. In the book, the white majority was definitely wrong in the way they treated the black minority. But it is my contention that this is not ground for rape and murder which Bigger Thomas was guilty of (the accidental murder of Mary and the deliberate rape and murder of Bessie). Maybe I am ignorant like the character, Mr. Dalton, but I think that the powerful and the rich ought not to be blamed for the bad decisions that individuals make, even though the powerful and the rich may be a negative influence. Society is never going to be perfect. And even though America obviously has its problems (especially in the 40's) its society is much better than most around the world. Oppression has shown its ugly head in far worse ways than America ever has. The choice is ours: puppet or person? What would you like to choose? This was a great book. The story was great and it caused me to think. I would recommend the book to anyone. I read the introduction after I read the book, and it was very helpful in understanding Richard Wright and the context in which he lived. Also helpful were the appendices which gave more context to the book.
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