The Man Who Lived Underground bookcover

The Man Who Lived Underground

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Description

"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 Laymon

A major literary event: an explosive, previously unpublished novel about race and violence in America by the legendary author of Native Son and Black Boy

Fred 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 this scorching novel, a never-before-seen masterpiece by Richard Wright. Written between his landmark books Native Son (1940) and Black Boy (1945), at the height of his creative powers, it would see publication in Wright's lifetime only in drastically condensed and truncated form, and ultimately be included in the posthumous short story collection Eight Men (1961). Now, for the first time, by special arrangement with 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.

Product Details

PublisherHarperCollins
Publish DateApril 20, 2021
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconCD-Audio
EAN/UPC9781799949176
Dimensions5.7 X 5.7 X 0.6 inches | 0.4 pounds

About the Author

Richard Wright won international renown for his powerful and visceral depiction of the black experience. He stands today alongside such African-American luminaries as Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison, and two of his novels, Native Son and Black Boy, are required reading in high schools and colleges across the nation. He died in 1960.

Reviews

"It might very well be Wright's most brilliantly crafted, and ominously foretelling, book."

-- "Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy"

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