The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life
A Library of America eBook Classic
Fiction & Literature, African American, Coming of Age, Literary
| Author: | Wallace Thurman | ISBN: | 9781598535761 |
| Publisher: | Library of America | Publication: | December 5, 2017 |
| Imprint: | Library of America | Language: | English |
| Author: | Wallace Thurman |
| ISBN: | 9781598535761 |
| Publisher: | Library of America |
| Publication: | December 5, 2017 |
| Imprint: | Library of America |
| Language: | English |
Library of America presents a classic novel of the Harlem Renaissance: Wallace Thurman's anguished, provocative look at prejudice and exclusion in Jazz Age Harlem.
The Blacker the Berry (1929), Wallace Thurman’s debut novel, broke new ground as an exploration of issues of “colorism,” intra-racial prejudice, and internalized racism in African American life. Its protagonist, the young Emma Lou Morgan, is simply “too dark” for a world in which every kind of advancement seems to require a light complexion. Seeking acceptance and opportunity, she moves––much like the dark-skinned young Thurman had, four years before the novel’s publication––from Idaho to California to New York. Harlem, the “city of surprises,” is in many ways the novel’s true subject, its low-down, licentious streets, glittering cabarets, and variegated cast of characters offering a rich backdrop for Emma Lou’s ambivalent, picaresque progress.
Library of America presents a classic novel of the Harlem Renaissance: Wallace Thurman's anguished, provocative look at prejudice and exclusion in Jazz Age Harlem.
The Blacker the Berry (1929), Wallace Thurman’s debut novel, broke new ground as an exploration of issues of “colorism,” intra-racial prejudice, and internalized racism in African American life. Its protagonist, the young Emma Lou Morgan, is simply “too dark” for a world in which every kind of advancement seems to require a light complexion. Seeking acceptance and opportunity, she moves––much like the dark-skinned young Thurman had, four years before the novel’s publication––from Idaho to California to New York. Harlem, the “city of surprises,” is in many ways the novel’s true subject, its low-down, licentious streets, glittering cabarets, and variegated cast of characters offering a rich backdrop for Emma Lou’s ambivalent, picaresque progress.
