tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post7736586560144006412..comments2023-11-05T19:08:10.849-08:00Comments on Booked for LIfe: Back to the Classics Challenge: Native Son Ruthiellahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-54391594811607289182019-12-17T11:54:55.780-08:002019-12-17T11:54:55.780-08:00Thanks for the comment Ruth! I think maybe the aut...Thanks for the comment Ruth! I think maybe the author was a little enamored of the speech ha gave the lawyer and that's why it stayed. But still, I agree with you an excellent book and one very deserving of the category of "classic". Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-74128101141391512662019-12-17T10:34:17.605-08:002019-12-17T10:34:17.605-08:00This book so impressed me, too, when I first read ...This book so impressed me, too, when I first read it years ago. I hope to reread it one of these days. I agree that the plot and its circumstances did enough to support the author's argument...and I think remember the attorney's monologue was unnecessarily preachy. Nonetheless, this was an excellent book. Ruth @ with freedom and bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15531827758868215023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-88607347262023229032019-07-29T19:27:08.867-07:002019-07-29T19:27:08.867-07:00Thanks for the comment Jane! Yes, Native Son does ...Thanks for the comment Jane! Yes, Native Son does jar one out of complacency for sure. And as much as I enjoyed GWTW, I do think the novel did want to believe (the author not Scarlett) that African-Americans preferred the "comfort" of slavery over the uncertainty of freedom. Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-36051871153562576192019-07-29T07:42:48.064-07:002019-07-29T07:42:48.064-07:00I read this in high school, during a time when I w...I read this in high school, during a time when I was enamored with Gone With the Wind. I have to say that painful as it was to read, it helped me move out of the enamored stage and understand that America wasn't a friendly place for most African-Americans.<br /><br />Excellent review.JaneGShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11094501834387622997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-5737058587770745782019-07-28T22:05:14.784-07:002019-07-28T22:05:14.784-07:00Thanks for the comment Judith! I read Ellison'...Thanks for the comment Judith! I read Ellison's Invisible Man as a senior in 1983 and I didn't have the maturity necessary to get the full import of the book either. I really should re-read it. I read a few books as a teenager that would benefit from a re-visit as an adult with more knowledge of the world!Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-45887898613114300142019-07-27T16:53:38.313-07:002019-07-27T16:53:38.313-07:00Dumb old me, As you pointed out in your review, it...Dumb old me, As you pointed out in your review, it was published in 1940. That amazes me. And The Invisible Man in 1952--that floors me! Yikes.Judithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-6621188722538439572019-07-27T16:50:22.047-07:002019-07-27T16:50:22.047-07:00Hi Ruthiella,
You wrote this post some time ago, s...Hi Ruthiella,<br />You wrote this post some time ago, so I'm not sure you'll see my response. I haven't read Native Son, but like you, I read The Invisible Man during my sophomore year in high school. I was 15, and I read every word, but really I did not have the maturity to fully grasp it, despite my struggle to do so.<br />The year was the spring of 1969 with lots going on, and politically speaking, I was totally with it, but sometimes literature is harder, and I do think The Invisible Man is challenging for teens. <br />Your comments about Native Son are fascinating. I will have to look up the year it was published. Thank you for reviewing it.Judithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06435116453270981662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-19705172065724017752019-07-12T05:21:29.867-07:002019-07-12T05:21:29.867-07:00I believe so. If we read more, we probably increas...I believe so. If we read more, we probably increase our empathy, understanding, and that will provoke love for the "other", - which is so needed at a time when we seem so upset and offended by those with different beliefs.<br /><br />I have experienced great admiration and respect here among the reading community, even when we are as different as we come. Love for books is a great unifier and platform for a civilized exchange of thoughts.<br /><br />Silviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17249978624747684879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-69162071339393194882019-07-11T10:39:51.426-07:002019-07-11T10:39:51.426-07:00Thanks for the comment Lark! Absolutely, that is o...Thanks for the comment Lark! Absolutely, that is one of the reasons I read books...to provide insight in to the past and also our present, for better or worse. Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-10068151688977115962019-07-11T10:38:46.113-07:002019-07-11T10:38:46.113-07:00Thanks for the comment Silvia! You are so right, ...Thanks for the comment Silvia! You are so right, America is made up of many groups of people who have the right to equal representation. The beauty of books and other forms of media is that they allow us to experience a universe different from our own and hopefully gain some empathy. Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-37585707898308250012019-07-11T10:35:16.592-07:002019-07-11T10:35:16.592-07:00Thanks for the comment jenclair! I agree, reading ...Thanks for the comment jenclair! I agree, reading this book in light of the Black Lives Matter movement makes it even more painful to read. Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-91559857614493063602019-07-11T10:33:25.704-07:002019-07-11T10:33:25.704-07:00Thanks for the comment Kathy. The reader has to tr...Thanks for the comment Kathy. The reader has to try very hard to maintain any sympathy for Bigger...even before he commits the murders. That is part of why the book is so difficult to read. <br /><br />Thanks for the recommendations on Baldwin. I have read Go Tell it on the Mountain, which was great! I need to follow that up with more books by Baldwin.Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-86138637176473601522019-07-11T09:49:09.540-07:002019-07-11T09:49:09.540-07:00It is sad that things haven't changed more ove...It is sad that things haven't changed more over the years. I guess that's why it's good to continue to read books like this one. Lark https://www.blogger.com/profile/13777891312147377769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-48392519936298513022019-07-11T07:10:11.648-07:002019-07-11T07:10:11.648-07:00Thanks for this review
It's brought this book ...Thanks for this review<br />It's brought this book to my attention. <br />And while there's still two universes, there's many universes in America, the poor,the homeless,the illegal,the Hispanic,Asian.<br />It's time I read James Baldwin, or this one. Silviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17249978624747684879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-91526451498915010482019-07-11T05:24:54.630-07:002019-07-11T05:24:54.630-07:00I've never read Native Son. The fact that thi...I've never read Native Son. The fact that things have not changed enough would make it even more painful to read now. We would like to believe things have improved, but in so many ways there are still two different universes. jenclairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-6917655802986914482019-07-10T20:05:01.981-07:002019-07-10T20:05:01.981-07:00Hi Ruthiella, excellent commentary and based on yo...Hi Ruthiella, excellent commentary and based on your review I would really like to read Native Son. I wonder though if the two murders Bigger commits might have ended up overshadowing the story Richard Wright wanted to tell. Does the reader lose sympathy with Bigger because of these murders? James Baldwin is tremendous and I highly recommend The Fire Next Time, Go Tell it on a Mountain or anything he writes.Kathy's Cornerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03967595794483824444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-88765635492640594402019-07-10T14:54:28.203-07:002019-07-10T14:54:28.203-07:00Thanks for the comment reese! It is a painful nov...Thanks for the comment reese! It is a painful novel to read. I should switch places with you and re-read Invisible Man. I read it in high school, decades ago and should look at it again with adult eyes.Ruthiellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03871834571645928819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-927098956199060247.post-89958502169292833042019-07-10T14:08:11.867-07:002019-07-10T14:08:11.867-07:00It is such a painful novel to read, but powerful. ...It is such a painful novel to read, but powerful. I've been thinking about rereading it since I reread Invisible Man relatively recently.reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818057262934008241noreply@blogger.com