The Blacker the Berry (AmazonClassics Edition)

By: Wallace Thurman

Narrated by: Tamika Katon-Donegal

At the time of its publication, Wallace Thurman’s debut novel was deeply provocative. This was due not only to its frank considerations of race and sex, but also to its vivid portrait of a Harlem that few other writers had dared to explore. At the heart of this journey into new terrain is Emma Lou Morgan, a Black woman who leaves her “color-struck” Idaho hometown behind and strikes out, first for Los Angeles and later for Harlem—where, unfortunately, discrimination simply takes on a new form. A controversial look at color prejudice across the country (but particularly across the tenements, employment agencies, cabarets, and movie houses of 1920s Harlem), The Blacker the Berry is a biting and enduringly relevant exploration of personal growth, cultural identity, and the pernicious influence of American racism.

Revised edition: Previously published as The Blacker the Berry, this edition of The Blacker the Berry includes editorial revisions.

Public Domain (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

what a waste of time

I had a hard time liking this character and her story. the book seemed to lack redeeming value and left me wondering what the point of it was

Showing instead of Telling

This is an important book of the Harlem Renaissance, but not a terribly well-written one. We take an achingly slow walk through Boise only to skip through California and rush through scenes in Harlem. The narrator gives almost no detail about any character, save their skin colors, and no one is likeable. Emma Lou is a victim of self-hatred and internalized racism, but she's also an idiot who makes every wrong, ridiculous decision, and it's difficult to care when the end finally comes. The narrator does an excellent job with the material, but you can skip this and check out Zora Neale Hurston or Langston Hughes or even Alain Locke's The New Negro if you want something better to represent the Harlem Renaissance.