December 2020: Nella Larsen

To round out the year, we'll be reading books by Nella Larsen.

What do you plan on reading this month?

FWIW, Larsen has two books on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die List:

Quicksand
Passing

I read Quicksand for a course in college, but haven't read Passing yet so that's my plan for December. :)

I, also plan on reading Passing as it's already on my shelf!

>3 Tess_W: Nice! :)

I have a copy of Passing, too, so count me in!

I have never read her writings so I have found a new author to me.

>5 Bookmarque: Hey, it's going to be a Passing party! :)

>6 mnleona: Excellent, I hope you will enjoy.

I read Quicksand last year, which I enjoyed and found brutally honest about race snd social class for 1928.

So it's Passing for me.

I finished Passing, which is a complex look at race, social class, sexuality and even marriage in the 1920s. Larsen builds a tension in the book to the final crisis, which I found compelling--I read the book in one evening.

I read Passing in Oct 2019 for my F2F book club. I've been recommending it to everyone since.

Here's my review

Passing by Nella Larsen
5*****

Irene Redfield is doing some shopping while on a trip to Chicago, when she stops for a brief rest and some tea at an elegant hotel’s restaurant. She notices that a woman at a nearby table keeps staring at her and she’s immediately concerned. Could the woman have somehow discerned that Irene is not white, but a Negro?

Larsen was part of the Harlem Renaissance and this book is a marvel of social commentary. In this slim volume Larsen explores issues of black/white identity, of the desire to get ahead and the societal obstacles to that path, of male/female relationships, and female-female rivalries. There is tension, fear, anger, joy, desire and hope. We get a wonderful glimpse of middle-class Black culture in 1920s Harlem. And that ending!

My F2F book club had a stimulating discussion.

A word of caution re the introduction: Definitely read the introduction, which will give you much insight into the book, the author’s background, and the critical thoughts of various experts. BUT … read the book FIRST, as the introduction will contain major spoilers for what happens in the novel.

>10 BookConcierge: Oof, reading the introduction first had spoiled many a classic novel for me. The publishers really should start putting them as endnote essays instead.