Notes of a Native Son
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4.6 • 84 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In an age of Black Lives Matter, James Baldwin's essays on life in Harlem, the protest novel, movies, and African Americans abroad are as powerful today as when they were first written. With documentaries like I Am Not Your Negro bringing renewed interest to Baldwin's life and work, Notes of a Native Son serves as a valuable introduction.
Written during the 1940s and early 1950s, when Baldwin was only in his twenties, the essays collected in Notes of a Native Son capture a view of black life and black thought at the dawn of the civil rights movement and as the movement slowly gained strength through the words of one of the most captivating essayists and foremost intellectuals of that era. Writing as an artist, activist, and social critic, Baldwin probes the complex condition of being black in America. With a keen eye, he examines everything from the significance of the protest novel to the motives and circumstances of the many black expatriates of the time, from his home in “The Harlem Ghetto” to a sobering “Journey to Atlanta.”
Notes of a Native Son inaugurated Baldwin as one of the leading interpreters of the dramatic social changes erupting in the United States in the twentieth century, and many of his observations have proven almost prophetic. His criticism on topics such as the paternalism of white progressives or on his own friend Richard Wright’s work is pointed and unabashed. He was also one of the few writing on race at the time who addressed the issue with a powerful mixture of outrage at the gross physical and political violence against black citizens and measured understanding of their oppressors, which helped awaken a white audience to the injustices under their noses. Naturally, this combination of brazen criticism and unconventional empathy for white readers won Baldwin as much condemnation as praise.
Notes is the book that established Baldwin’s voice as a social critic, and it remains one of his most admired works. The essays collected here create a cohesive sketch of black America and reveal an intimate portrait of Baldwin’s own search for identity as an artist, as a black man, and as an American.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
James Baldwin’s first collection of essays, written during his twenties, announced him as a defiant and deeply compelling new voice in the cultural landscape. The collection’s fearless pieces include erudite, often scathing critiques of notable works of the civil rights era, including Richard Wright’s acclaimed novel Native Son and Carmen Jones, the all-Black musical adaptation of the opera Carmen. Baldwin pulls no punches, writing with wit and passion about difficult subjects like police brutality, discrimination, and the condescending attitudes of the civil rights movement’s white allies in Hollywood. Through it all, Baldwin’s deep and seemingly unending sense of empathy shines through. Read the essays that established Baldwin as one of the most important voices in the landscape of American literature.
Customer Reviews
One of Baldwin’s earliest and best works
Baldwin’s analysis of “Native Son” by Richard Wright is powerful and poignant. He lies out the inner workings of race, class, and history of not just the USA, but of the western world post WWII. He gives critiques on other “protest novels”, films, and music of the first half of the 20th century. Slightly autobiographical, “Notes of a Native Son” will challenge, enlighten, and leave you questioning the entire racial structure of the western world.