{"id":206873,"date":"2025-04-26T13:36:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T13:36:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/books\/geode-kirkus-reviews\/"},"modified":"2025-04-26T13:36:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T13:36:42","slug":"geode-kirkus-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=206873","title":{"rendered":"GEODE | Kirkus Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n by
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\n Richard Wright
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\u2027<\/span>
\n RELEASE DATE: April 20, 2021<\/span>\n <\/p>\n

\n A welcome literary resurrection that deserves a place alongside Wright\u2019s best-known work.\n <\/p>\n

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Likes<\/p>\n

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  • \n \"Readers\n <\/li>\n
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    17<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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    Our Verdict<\/p>\n

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      GET IT<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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        New York Times Bestseller<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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        A falsely accused Black man goes into hiding in this masterful novella by Wright (1908-1960), finally published in full.<\/p>\n

        Written in 1941 and ’42, between Wright\u2019s classics Native Son<\/i>\u00a0and Black Boy<\/i>, this short novel concerns Fred Daniels, a modest laborer who\u2019s arrested by police officers and bullied into signing a false confession that he killed the residents of a house near where he was working. In a brief unsupervised moment, he escapes through a manhole and goes into hiding in a sewer. A series of allegorical, surrealistic set pieces ensues as Fred explores the nether reaches of a church, a real estate firm, and a jewelry store. Each stop is an opportunity for Wright to explore themes of hope, greed, and exploitation; the real estate firm, Wright notes, \u201ccollected hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent from poor colored folks.\u201d But Fred\u2019s deepening existential crisis and growing distance from society keep the scenes from feeling like potted commentaries. As he wallpapers his underground warren with cash, mocking and invalidating the currency, he registers a surrealistic but engrossing protest against divisive social norms. The novel, rejected by Wright\u2019s publisher, has only appeared as a substantially truncated short story until now, without the opening setup and with a different ending. Wright’s take on racial injustice seems to have unsettled his publisher: A note reveals that an editor found reading about Fred\u2019s treatment by the police \u201cunbearable.\u201d That may explain why Wright, in an essay included here, says its focus on race is \u201crather muted,\u201d emphasizing broader existential themes. Regardless, as an afterword by Wright\u2019s grandson Malcolm attests, the story now serves as an allegory both of Wright (he moved to France, an \u201cexile beyond the reach of Jim Crow and American bigotry\u201d) and American life. Today, it resonates deeply as a story about race and the struggle to envision a different, better world.<\/p>\n

        A welcome literary resurrection that deserves a place alongside Wright\u2019s best-known work.<\/p><\/div>\n

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        Pub Date:<\/b> April 20, 2021<\/p>\n

        ISBN:<\/b> 978-1-59853-676-8<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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        Page Count:<\/b> 240<\/p>\n

        Publisher:<\/b> Library of America<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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        Review Posted Online:<\/b> March 16, 2021<\/p>\n

        Kirkus Reviews Issue:<\/b> April 1, 2021<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

        Share your opinion of this book<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n