Ann Petry: The Street, The Narrows (LOA #314)
Ann PetryPublished in 1946 to widespread critical & popular acclaim--it was the first novel by an African-American woman to sell over a million copies--The Street follows Lutie Johnson, a young, newly single mother, as she struggles to make a better life for her son, Bub. An intimate account of the aspirations & challenges of black, female, working-class life, much of it set on a single block in Harlem, the novel exposes structural inequalities in American society while telling a complex human story, as overpriced housing, lack of opportunity, sexual harassment, & racism conspire to limit Lutie's potential & to break her buoyant spirit.
Less widely read than her blockbuster debut & still underappreciated, The Narrows (1953) is Petry's most ambitious & accomplished novel--a multi-layered, stylistically innovative exploration of themes of race, class, sexuality, gender, & power in postwar America. Centered around an adulterous interracial affair in a small Connecticut town between the young black scholar-athlete Link Williams & white, privileged munitions heiress Camilo Sheffield, it is also a fond, incisive community portrait, full of unforgettable minor characters, unexpected humor, & a rich sense of history. Also included in the volume are 3 of Petry's previously uncollected essays related to the novels & a newly researched chronology of the author's life, prepared with the assistance of her daughter Elisabeth Petry.
LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979.