A review by mrjess_bhs
Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

I wonder if this final version lives up to Ellison’s hopes. Doubtful since he couldn’t put the finishing touches on it across his last 40 years. Even though you can see the cracks throughout, this is still a powerful novel. Ellison shines especially in his dialogue and that Juneteenth sermon from Daddy Hickman is astonishing. I do think there is maybe too much monologuing in this book to keep some readers turning pages though. I like how one reviewer summed up the premise as “what if Dr. King had raised Storm Thurmond?” All the questions that would bring up for you are the questions that drives this novel.