The Man Who Lived Underground: A Novel

Description

New York Times Bestseller • One of the Best Books of the Year by Time
magazine, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, and Esquire, and one of
Oprah’s 15 Favorite Books of the YearFrom the legendary author of Native Son
and Black Boy, the novel he was unable to publish during his lifetime—an
explosive story of racism, injustice, brutality, and survival. “Not just
Wright’s masterwork, but also a milestone in African American literature . . .
One of those indispensable works that reminds all its readers that, whether we
are in the flow of life or somehow separated from it, above- or belowground,
we are all human.” (Gene Seymour, CNN.com)“The Man Who Lived Underground
reminds us that any ‘greatest writers of the 20th century’ list that doesn’t
start and end with Richard Wright is laughable. It might very well be Wright’s
most brilliantly crafted, and ominously foretelling, book.”—Kiese LaymonFred
Daniels, a Black man, is picked up by the police after a brutal double murder
and tortured until he confesses to a crime he did not commit. After signing a
confession, he escapes from custody and flees into the city’s sewer
system.This is the devastating premise of Richard Wright’s scorching novel,
The Man Who Lived Underground, written between his landmark books Native Son
(1940) and Black Boy (1945), at the height of his creative powers. Now, for
the first time, by special arrangement between the Library of America and the
author’s estate, the full text of the work that meant more to Wright than any
other (“I have never written anything in my life that stemmed more from sheer
inspiration”) is published in the form that he intended, complete with his
companion essay, “Memories of My Grandmother.” Malcolm Wright, the author’s
grandson, contributes an afterword. Read more

Features:

Product Details:

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial Modern Classics (November 8, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062971484
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 87
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.54 x 8 inches
• Best Sellers Rank: #450,849 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #8,718 in Short Stories (Books) #11,145 in Classic Literature & Fiction #22,306 in Literary Fiction (Books)
• #8,718 in Short Stories (Books)
• #11,145 in Classic Literature & Fiction