English language
Published Sept. 21, 2023 by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Nella Larsen was a major Harlem Renaissance author. Despite her lack of output, her art was powerful and well-received. This collection contains both of her novels, "Passing" and "Quicksand," as well as all three of her published short stories, "Freedom," "The Wrong Man," and "Sanctuary." "Quicksand" was an autobiographical film about a woman's need for sexual fulfilment in the setting of respectability and acceptance in a religious society. The novel is bleak, and it ends with the protagonist being drawn into a life that is the polar opposite of all she desired. "Passing" confronts the issue of racial passing. Clare and Irene, two childhood friends who are both fair-skinned enough to pass for white, are the focus of the story.
Nella Larsen was a major Harlem Renaissance author. Despite her lack of output, her art was powerful and well-received. This collection contains both of her novels, "Passing" and "Quicksand," as well as all three of her published short stories, "Freedom," "The Wrong Man," and "Sanctuary." "Quicksand" was an autobiographical film about a woman's need for sexual fulfilment in the setting of respectability and acceptance in a religious society. The novel is bleak, and it ends with the protagonist being drawn into a life that is the polar opposite of all she desired. "Passing" confronts the issue of racial passing. Clare and Irene, two childhood friends who are both fair-skinned enough to pass for white, are the focus of the story.
This was interesting only as a comparison to the movie. I probably wouldn't have read it if I hadn't watched the movie first and been interested in how it compared.
This was interesting only as a comparison to the movie. I probably wouldn't have read it if I hadn't watched the movie first and been interested in how it compared.
I read this to prepare for Judith Butler's chapter on it in Bodies that Matter. I really liked it! I think Larsen did a good job of capturing the experience of racial unintelligibility. Also a very quick and engaging read.
I read this to prepare for Judith Butler's chapter on it in Bodies that Matter. I really liked it! I think Larsen did a good job of capturing the experience of racial unintelligibility. Also a very quick and engaging read.
