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" Completely undervalued work. Petry is comparable to Virginia Wolfe in detail, and a master of emotion. "
- Regina, 2/17/2014
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" All I have to say is this - if at any time you feel the need to stop reading this book - keep reading! The end of the book was sooo sad, I just didn't see it turning out that way. That's all I'm saying... "
- Angela, 2/14/2014
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" This book definitely has some problems--there's a sort of repetition of the same details over and over without giving them any new meaning that drove me crazy for a while--but it's also pretty devastating and made me cry, which is really the criterion by which I judge most books. And the social criticism as nearly as applicable today as it was when Petry wrote the book 60 years ago. Scary. "
- Matt, 2/2/2014
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" I really liked this book about a black woman with a son trying to make it on her own. "
- Mary, 2/1/2014
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" A vivid and quite depressing view into what it was like to live as a single African American mother in 1940s New York. "
- Jamie, 1/24/2014
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" The rawness of Richard Wright, the wisdom of Toni Morrison. First read in 1970s and never Ann Petry. "
- Rosemari, 1/21/2014
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" A product that is really a reflective piece on the Harlem Renaissance coming in the 1950s. Really liked the female perspective on the race problem as well as underlying gender issues that came along with that. "
- Kristin, 1/18/2014
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" I just couldn't stay with this one. I'm over half done and it's just so dark with so many grotesque characters it was way too depressing to finish. I probably wouldn't have read as much as I did, but didn't have anything else new in the house to read. "
- Cheryl, 1/1/2014
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" Deeply moving, tragic portrayal of one woman's life in Harlem in the 1940s as she attempts to rise from poverty and oppression to make a better life for herself and her son. "
- Phoebe, 12/18/2013
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" Seriously...one of the GREATEST books I have ever read. So tragic, and RELEVANT to all Blacks living in all great metropolis of America. I definitely will revisit this novel again in the future. Highly recommend to all! "
- Jacq, 12/9/2013
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" This book really infiltrated my psyche while I was reading it. Very compelling. "
- Rachel, 11/12/2013
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" Great book. Depressing along the lines of An American Tragedy. Put me in a bleak mood, but still a very worthwhile read. "
- April, 11/9/2013
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" This book's amazing! A black woman's struggle to survive racism and sexism in 1960's Harlem... "
- Veronica, 9/22/2013
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" Haunting and heartbreaking because it all could have happened, has happened, and is happening...everywhere. Why must there be for so many people so much drudgery, pain, poverty, judgment, despair, hate, hopelessness, and the muted horror of confronting the deceptively simple act of existing? "
- Ruthie, 8/14/2013
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" Read this book in college--harrowing, bleak, emotional. And amazing. "
- Arnold, 7/26/2013
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" *LFPC read for April 2012. 3.75 stars "
- Dream, 7/25/2013
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" This story just overtook my emotions. I cannot think of anything critical to say about the structure or even the content, as I was just swept away by the plot and the characters. "
- Karli, 7/3/2013
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" Really good, all about a single black woman trying to provide for her son in NY in the late 40s. "
- Katie, 6/6/2013
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" The ending ruined the whole book. Moreover, I had a hard time connecting with the protagonist- Lutie Johnson. She was too prissy for my taste. "
- Michelle, 5/29/2013
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" I'd be interested in what other people think of this. It is a 1946 tale of a single mother raising a son in Harlem. So of it is cumbersome, but some of the imagery is great. "
- Joyce, 5/22/2013
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" I loved this book; it felt raw and real. "
- Wendy, 4/29/2013
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" Social Realist slice of life as a single mother tries to keep it all together. Excellent novel. "
- Ryan, 3/14/2013
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" Equal parts horribly discouraging and irrepressibly wonderful. "
- Eve, 2/11/2013
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