⋙ Download Gratis Passing Penguin Classics Nella Larsen Thadious M Davis Emily Bernard Books

Passing Penguin Classics Nella Larsen Thadious M Davis Emily Bernard Books

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Passing Penguin Classics Nella Larsen Thadious M Davis Emily Bernard Books

I was unaware of this book and found it when I was searching for a “classic by an author of color” for a reading challenge. At 95 pages this is more of a novella than a novel. It was written in 1927 during the Harlem Renaissance. Given the time period, it is a remarkable book that is still relevant today.

The story is narrated by Irene Redfield, a light-skinned black woman. She is married to a black physician and they have two sons. She is living in Harlem with her family but grew up in Chicago. During a trip home, she meets a childhood friend named Clare Bellew. Clare is also light-skinned but has decided to “go native,” living her life as a white woman. She is married to a wealthy white man who is an overt racist. He has no idea that his wife and their young daughter are black. Clare insinuates herself into Irene’s life and even comes to New York City for an extended stay. Irene is both fascinated and repelled by Clare. The book examines each woman’s approach to passing for white. Irene, who is insecure, seems to envy Clare’s confidence and also resent it. She also fears that Clare has made a dangerous mistake by lying to her husband about her heritage. There are several tense moments in the book when Irene has the opportunity to out Clare. She always chooses to keep her secret. Irene’s internal struggle between being proud of her heritage and protecting her friend is painfully drawn out to a horrible conclusion.

Though the book is short, as are the sentences and paragraphs, it packs a big punch. You can read this quickly, but the book is better when you savor the words and think about the implications. To me, the novel is about mixed feelings and blurred lines. You can feel Irene’s ambivalence. The author does not provide any “right” answers and the book ends with even more questions. Some literary critics suggest that there is a lesbian element to the relationship between Irene and Clare. I wondered about that myself, but that is not a central part of the book in my opinion. Passing was not a part of my college reading list, but I am so glad that I found it.


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Passing Penguin Classics Nella Larsen Thadious M Davis Emily Bernard Books Reviews

It is very unfortunate that we only have precious few works by Larsen to enjoy. Chief among them, of course, are the novels Quicksand and Passing. Quicksand, which is a great book, is longer and more complex (and well worth the read), but Passing is a condensed jewel of a book. And scandalous! It's almost inappropriate to describe a work by the masterful Larsen as "juicy", but that it is. Set in early Twentieth Century Harlem, the story focuses on Irene Redfield, the wife of a fairly affluent (albeit discontent) doctor and mother of two boys. All is more or less well until the reintroduction of the beautiful and bewitching Claire Kennedy into Irene's life. Although both Irene and Claire are of African-American heritage, both can "pass" for white and Larsen explores this idea thoroughly. But "passing" is the theme of the book, both in the obvious and non-obvious sense. There are a few underlying subplots (what makes the story all the more scandalous and juicy) including a hidden subplot (SPOILER AHEAD) involving a sexual attraction between Irene and Claire. Remember, this book was written circa 1920 and one couldn't casually write about a love affair between two women. There's no overt love affair between the two women here, however, at least none that Irene will allow. You'll see my meaning in the last few pages of the story.

The real star of this book is Larsen's writing style. Her descriptions and phrasings are lush and vivid, yet she avoids pouring it on too thick, making for never a dull moment. She had a gift for expressing raw underlying emotion. This book (with its close companion "Quicksand") is canonical in many universities and rightfully so. Highly recommended!
The title of this book refers to a group of light-skinned African-American women who can "pass" for white during Jim Crow. I give this book five stars, with one reservation. I found the book fascinating, with some amazing writing, and a riveting plot line that you are dropped into without the slightest suspicion, and blindsided by the depth of the psychological drama that unfolds. My criticism is that the book ends too quickly, and too abruptly. I would have read three times as much about this astounding world, and all of the multiple characters, black and white, that are brought to life so vividly, along with the glamor of the Harlem Renaissance. It should have been a much longer book. This writer got a Guggenheim and then couldn't get her subsequent book published. I heard about this book because it was the subject of a discussion at the Waterstones bookstore in London, and since it was an American writer, it made me curious. I suspect the author's life, as a black woman in those days, led her into the kind of poverty and obscurity that Zora Neale Hurston ended up living, as a hotel maid, at the time of her death. We lost out on the kind of body of work they might have produced had they been of a race, class and gender that offered more support for their literary gifts.
I was unaware of this book and found it when I was searching for a “classic by an author of color” for a reading challenge. At 95 pages this is more of a novella than a novel. It was written in 1927 during the Harlem Renaissance. Given the time period, it is a remarkable book that is still relevant today.

The story is narrated by Irene Redfield, a light-skinned black woman. She is married to a black physician and they have two sons. She is living in Harlem with her family but grew up in Chicago. During a trip home, she meets a childhood friend named Clare Bellew. Clare is also light-skinned but has decided to “go native,” living her life as a white woman. She is married to a wealthy white man who is an overt racist. He has no idea that his wife and their young daughter are black. Clare insinuates herself into Irene’s life and even comes to New York City for an extended stay. Irene is both fascinated and repelled by Clare. The book examines each woman’s approach to passing for white. Irene, who is insecure, seems to envy Clare’s confidence and also resent it. She also fears that Clare has made a dangerous mistake by lying to her husband about her heritage. There are several tense moments in the book when Irene has the opportunity to out Clare. She always chooses to keep her secret. Irene’s internal struggle between being proud of her heritage and protecting her friend is painfully drawn out to a horrible conclusion.

Though the book is short, as are the sentences and paragraphs, it packs a big punch. You can read this quickly, but the book is better when you savor the words and think about the implications. To me, the novel is about mixed feelings and blurred lines. You can feel Irene’s ambivalence. The author does not provide any “right” answers and the book ends with even more questions. Some literary critics suggest that there is a lesbian element to the relationship between Irene and Clare. I wondered about that myself, but that is not a central part of the book in my opinion. Passing was not a part of my college reading list, but I am so glad that I found it.