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Title: Quicksand (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) by Nella Larsen, Thadious M. Davis ISBN: 0-14-118127-3 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: February, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: An unfortunately forgotten classic
Comment: Quicksand is an epic story of a tragic heroine written with taste and a great deal of wit. I can't help but wonder how the works of Nella Larsen are so criminally ignored by those interested in the study of African-American literature and the Harlem Renaissance (most texts make a brief footnote, failing to acknowledge the incredible value of this novel and its companion, the erotic and controversial Passing).
The novel follows the ups and downs of Helga Crane, a young woman doomed by her own intelligence and beauty. She is intellectually above those who are supposedly paving the way to success and equality for the black race. She sees a great deal of false pretense and [economic] selfishness in many of the people that she encounters throughout her journey, which is no more than a quest for independence and the possibility of happiness.
Her racial background (mixed, "brought up" by a hateful white stepfather and an ailing mother) defines the way in which she sees the world. She learns to manipulate colour and sex to her own advantage, only to discover in the end that she failed at understanding her real mission in this world. Her rebellious, never content character leads her to a nervous breakdown and the making of a terrible decision that defines her fate. At this point, in the midst of everything that she disliked in life (dirt, pregnancy, ignorance, rural life, religion) she realises that all of her existence she had been walking upon quicksand (her own soul being made of it), and that all she can do now is finally stop fighting; letting herself drown; escaping the struggle.
Larsen's way of ending her novels has been often criticised as rather abrupt and unexpected (Passing ending with the sudden death of its protagonist). I tend to disagree with those who dislike the way in which Quicksand closes. The author has presented a heroine whose life has been marked by struggle, fighting with fate, with herself, with her own race and sexuality. By placing Helga in such deplorable conditions (as her life seemed to reach some balance), Larsen makes a clear criticism of the position of women (as well as a commentary on race, religion, economic exploitation, and other topics) in a world that could not forgive intelligence or bravery in such a gender.
Quicksand touches upon so many subjects in such a sharp manner that it may take more than one read to discover the hidden layers within the novel. If any novel about race has come close to perfection this has to be the one, Passing being a close competitor for that feat. Hopefully one day they will receive the recognition that they deserve.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Worthy Effort
Comment: Nella Larsen does an exemplary job of devling into the human psyche with Passing. Unlike the color-struck works of Dorothy West this Harlem Renaissance author brings all of the pain of duality of multi-cultural people to the reader. Helga Crane lives between the two worlds of white and black and expresses the same anguish that many middle class blacks feel today. She is not the "tragic mulatto" as many critic paint her. This book should be read by anyone with an interest in the politics of race.
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Title: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston ISBN: 0060931418 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 December, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Three Lives (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) by Gertrude Stein, Ann Charters ISBN: 0140181849 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: June, 1990 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Street by Ann Petry ISBN: 0395901499 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 15 March, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Witness (Masks) by Juan Jose Saer, Margaret Jull Costa ISBN: 1852421843 Publisher: Serpent's Tail Pub. Date: September, 1991 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Passing by Nella Larsen, Thadious M. Davis ISBN: 0142437271 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
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