Reviews with content warning for Death - The Street

This is such an impactful story that is emotional, reflective and sad but not dark. Its not a dark book in the sense where it makes you feel dread or horror. But as you read, your emotions are neutral through all because its the weird feeling of relatability. Ann Petry tells the story in a way that it is too realistic that you can't help but be numb about it. It would be like watching a film of your own life, you know those emotions and you can't help but have no reaction to them. It's a weird feeling that I felt whilst reading but I'm not saying it as a bad thing. I liked it, because it made the ending much painful and unexpected. The ending is what completes the story, how heartbreaking it is but also shows the reality of it all. All loose ends are not tied up but rather left there because that's how life is. You never really tie it all together. We follow other characters that are so raw that the characters don't feel like characters but rather humans. It's as if I'm a scientist studying people forced in a horrible situation, taking notes and not being able to do anything but reflect and spread the knowledge I learned. That is the whole story, a study of humans trapped in the most narrowest of trails. Great story! Changed my thinking and overall enjoyed it.

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ohlhauc's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I really, really enjoyed reading this book and can see why it's revered as a American classic.

First off, it is gorgeously written. The melody and structure of the writing flows smooth until there are moments of tension or violence, whereby the writing shifts to reflect the terror and trauma. The dialogue also felt natural. I liked how the author did use first- and second-person when she was sharing the inner thoughts of the protagonist, showing how Lutie was thinking of herself in those moments.

And then the story itself is well-constructed and the build-up to the climax is a slow-burn. You can see characters and forces creeping closer to a collision, and that tension compels you to read forward. The specific moments and the underlying themes and ideas showing racism, sexism, and classism - their separate moments but also how they're an interconnected web that feeds each other into a never-ending cycle of oppression was haunting and head on. You could feel the weight on the protagonist's shoulders - as well as the other characters - and how their society, and the street they lived on, were moulding their destinies.

The ending was heartbreaking but also made the most sense even if it's probably not the one you would want.

If you care about reading great classics, you have to pick this up. I also highly recommend it for anyone who's interested in the Harlem Renaissance, stories about poverty and intersectional oppression (racism, sexism, classism), or even if you're into a story with lots of tension, twists, and brutal hard facts.

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