Book Blog #63: Black Boy by Richard Wright

Title: Black Boy
Author: Richard Wright
# of Pages: 448 (paperback)
Genre: Classics, African American Literature, Autobiography
Rating:★★★★★
Synopsis: Richard Wright grew up in the woods of Mississippi amid poverty, hunger, fear, and hatred. He lied, stole, and raged at those around him; at six he was a "drunkard," hanging about in taverns. Surly, brutal, cold, suspicious, and self-pitying, he was surrounded on one side by whites who were either indifferent to him, pitying, or cruel, and on the other by blacks who resented anyone trying to rise above the common lot.

Review: I don't like nonfiction. I've only read a handful of autobiographies in my life. Yet I have to say that this book is one of my favorites.

I know what some of you are thinking; what can possibly be interesting about a guy talking about himself. Now, if you AREN'T thinking that, I completely understand. You have already discover the beauty of an autobiography. However, if you ARE thinking that, then let me tell you; when your reading Black Boy, you forget that you're reading an autobiography. Sometimes there are scenes that seem too cruel to be true, but it happened. It's an amazing experience.

Throughout the book, however, I couldn't help but wonder who was in the right and who was in the wrong. Since this book is written from Wright's eyes, you don't really know if he's as good of a person as he seems to be in the book. However, he seems to tell the reader both sides of his life; how he wants to be able to write, but also has sold tickets illegally. This makes me trust that he's is telling his story as truthfully as he could.

There was one quote in this book on page 76 that I really liked:

"'It's a bird,' I said. The crowd laughed. 'That's a plane, boy,' a man said...'Boy, remember this,' he said. 'You're seeing man fly'"

Do you see the resemblance to the Superman quote? It's a bird! It's a plane! It's SUPERMAN!!! I loved that. There were many other quotes that I really, really liked, but don't have time to share with you right now. Maybe next time.

If you haven't read this book yet, don't be shy. At the very least, read just part 1. Part 2 was slightly less interesting because it gets into politics, but it was interesting nonetheless. Recommended!!!