A review by emilyholladay
Juneteenth by Ralph Ellison

3.0

I am not really sure what I just read/listened to. The audiobook narration is the only thing that kept me engaged in this book, because Joe Morton was so amazing. The premise of the book is so strange, with the conversations happening as a “white” senator lays dying in a hospital room. I could see glimpses of what Ellison was getting at, but honestly found the notes at the end of the book more compelling than the story itself. I always hate it when I’m reading a book and I feel like I must not be smart enough to “get” what the author was trying to do, but that’s how I felt most of the time I read Juneteenth. I’m bummed, because I expected to really enjoy this novel.