The Street

Brilliant, Gripping Story of 1940s Harlem

The third selection of the Spilling Tea Book Club was “The Street” by Ann Petry, which is getting a well deserved revival right now. Championed by Tayari Jones (who wrote the foreword for a new edition) and mentioned even as recently in the New York Times by Isabel Wilkerson (who wrote the new Oprah pick, Caste), this book made it on my radar and into my book club. This novel was the first to exceed sales of one million books by a black, female writer. I highly recommend this excellent book.

Lutie Johnson is trying to make a better life for her and her son, Bub, when she leaves her husband and father in Jamaica, Queens, and moves to Harlem, 116th street between 7th and 8th avenues. Just after moving in, Lutie meets the characters of the street: Jones, the super; his wife, Min; the first-floor Madam, Mrs. Hedges; and bandleader, Boots. Lutie is soon wrapped up in the crime and racism of the street, while aspiring to be a singer.

This book is a thriller where some menace lurks around every corner on the street. But looming large over this story is the villain, racism. As the novel progresses, we learn the backstory of the many characters on the street, the actions they have taken to survive in a racist society which does not value their lives, let alone dreams. The characters manipulate trying to have some control in their lives. Lutie makes every good, noble choice that she can, but she is always thwarted up until the end. She is used by her father, her husband, the people in her new building. She can’t escape the suffering no matter how much she tries. Her only hope is signing at a casino at night, run by the proprietor, Junto, who also owns a bar on the street. While written in the 40s, this book feels extremely modern. The writing is excellent with a structure that builds tension by slowly revealing the history and intentions of the characters. This novel is like a chess game, slowly the pieces are put in position for an ending in a checkmate I didn’t see coping. The beautiful writing captures the aspirations of Lutie and the innocence of Bub, while trying to escape the grimy, trap of the street.

“The Street” is brilliant from it’s structure, to it’s imagery. It is a book about racism, thrilling and horrifying, yet it does not preach. Petry shows the despair of racism through this story with a keen eye to detail and well observed characters. This book should be considered a classic and read widely for these reasons. Read my full review on Goodreads. ★★★★★ ◊ Trade Paperback ◊ Fiction - Literary, Thriller ◊ Published by Mariner Books on March 15, 1998. ◾︎