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balfies's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Helga Crane had a white mother and a black father. She cannot self actualise as an outspoken voice in educated southern black society, nor among the race radicals in Harlem, nor as an ornament in Denmark, nor as a preacher's wife completely surrendered to religion. Belonging and a stable sense of self are unreachable.
First read this during a unit on the Harlem Renaissance I did while I was on exchange in the States. Honestly, one of the finest pieces of American writing on race I've ever read. Nella Larsen is up there with Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, this was so richly detailed and full of vivid imagery, I made notes on just about every page.
First read this during a unit on the Harlem Renaissance I did while I was on exchange in the States. Honestly, one of the finest pieces of American writing on race I've ever read. Nella Larsen is up there with Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, this was so richly detailed and full of vivid imagery, I made notes on just about every page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Racism, and Racial slurs
eve81's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, and Classism
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