Scan barcode
notthatcosta's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.25
I found Black Boy to be a highly frustrating book at times; Richard Wright viscerally recounts what it is like to grow up as a perennial outsider, merely for wanting agency and respect in a world that denied both to him at every turn.
My knowledge of American history has many gaps, so the additional context offered by this book around the North/South divide was very insightful.
Despite it being very slow-paced and dense, I found myself getting much more into the book as it progressed, particularly from his late teens onwards. My main complaint would be that a lot of time was spent on his childhood, and while those formative experiences were very important and defining for him, I found it excruciating read about him getting accused of acting a certain way and beaten, and then repeat by several adults.
My knowledge of American history has many gaps, so the additional context offered by this book around the North/South divide was very insightful.
Despite it being very slow-paced and dense, I found myself getting much more into the book as it progressed, particularly from his late teens onwards. My main complaint would be that a lot of time was spent on his childhood, and while those formative experiences were very important and defining for him, I found it excruciating read about him getting accused of acting a certain way and beaten, and then repeat by several adults.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Bullying, Classism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Abandonment, and Animal death
More...