Native Son by Richard Wright

Native Son

By Richard Wright

Published in 1940

This edition published in 1968 by Harper Collins

God damn. If you’re American and haven’t yet done so, please read this book (and if you’re not American, it’s still worth a read). I think it’s best if you go in, like I did, not knowing too much of what happens. That said, from a high level, Bigger Thomas, a poor black man, gets a job driving for a rich white family and is slowly pulled into contact with communists before a terrible sequence of events unfolds. 

Throughout the book, Bigger flails against his friends, against his community, against a world that intentionally excludes him (including the misguided attempts of white people to help), dehumanizes him, in a world that he fears/is conditioned to fear. His crimes are an expression of generations of conditioning, of being told to fear white people. He acts out to inflict this same fear onto others, to take control of his life in protest against the color of his skin.

He can’t think too much about how he or his family actually lives/is forced to live because it’s too much to bear, so he intentionally removes himself from his family, from his feelings. There’s an ever-present feeling of anxiety of never having enough, of making the wrong choice over and over. 

The way Wright is able to make characters believable is impressive, both presenting small details that tell of lived experiences and presenting a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds that are different enough to create friction. I sometimes think about what makes something great and/or valuable, and one thing that I know, for myself, is that a thing carries weight depending on how much it sticks with you. I have thought about this book a hell of a lot in the year or so since I’ve read it, more than many other books that I’ve read. 

Ultimately, it's hard and unsettling. There were multiple sections that I didn’t want to push through because it was just all so fucking heavy and/or violent (one twist in particular coming later in the book that was especially sad). But the relevance of this book today makes it necessary and would probably greatly disappoint but not surprise Richard Wright. Incredibly well written (the storytelling is as tight as can be with pitch-perfect dialogue that pulls you in and carries the action), important, and devastating…it’s mandatory stuff. 

Heavy Lit rating: Masterpiece

Listen to full review :