One of the problems with picking up older books that deal with social issues is that without any kind of historical context the story can suffer. This book tells the story of a man learning to stand on his own out in the world.
The primary issue in this book is race, and it was interesting to see things from the view of a young black man coming from the south and ending up in New York. There are episodes throughout the book that seem to be allegories for social problems on a bigger scale, and it was hard to read the brutal racism that was found in 1950’s America.
That being said, I don’t think I have enough knowledge about those times to really receive the writer’s message in detail, and so I felt like some of the power of the novel was lost on me.
I liked the idea of the book, and it was interesting to go back in time and see a different kind of America, but this book didn’t really click with me. By hearing the stories of this book it was a little encouraging to know that there has been progress in race relations, but there is still a long ways to go.
Next I’m reading River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh.
