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A review by monkeelino
The Man Who Lived Underground by Richard Wright
4.0
I'm three months behind on book reviews and I'm not sure why I'm not throwing in the towel, clicking on some stars, and moving on...
I finished this three months ago. The first part drew me immediately to the extent I didn't take down a single note or underline any passages. And then the second part (we'll call it the underground part) threw me off kilter. It has both a different rhythm and a different type of storytelling. Eventually, this worked for me as a reader, but I was resistant at first and hoping the pace and tension of the first part would return. Two comments Wright makes in the backmatter really helped me frame this story: one comment is about approaching the writing as a type of jazz and the other dealt with his general thoughts about character and story:
I think one of the reasons why this book has been praised is that Wright's characteristic gift for realism forms the foundation, but he raises Fred Daniels's life to that of myth (falsely accused of murder, Fred must abandon his wife just as she's giving birth so he can avoid prison; he is literally forced underground where he goes through a classic and elevating type of transformation). The layers and symbolism is this book are intricately layered for such a short volume, and I was left with a haunted feeling upon finishing.
I finished this three months ago. The first part drew me immediately to the extent I didn't take down a single note or underline any passages. And then the second part (we'll call it the underground part) threw me off kilter. It has both a different rhythm and a different type of storytelling. Eventually, this worked for me as a reader, but I was resistant at first and hoping the pace and tension of the first part would return. Two comments Wright makes in the backmatter really helped me frame this story: one comment is about approaching the writing as a type of jazz and the other dealt with his general thoughts about character and story:
“Well, in a good story, I think, there comes a point where the character is rendered fluid, where, through a combination of events, he is lifted to a point of tension where the author can do anything with him, where everything fits.”For Wright, you had to sort of "break" the character before a story could begin, before the honest possibilities were open. And it's in the surreal underground part that a kind of dreamlike jazz composition leads us through a katabasis.
I think one of the reasons why this book has been praised is that Wright's characteristic gift for realism forms the foundation, but he raises Fred Daniels's life to that of myth (falsely accused of murder, Fred must abandon his wife just as she's giving birth so he can avoid prison; he is literally forced underground where he goes through a classic and elevating type of transformation). The layers and symbolism is this book are intricately layered for such a short volume, and I was left with a haunted feeling upon finishing.