Wallace Thurman - Böcker

The groundbreaking Harlem Renaissance novel about prejudice within the black communityEmma Lou Morgan's skin is black - 'too black', as the narrator writes at the beginning of The Blacker the Berry. Tired of the scorn and contempt of her classmates, teachers, friends and even family, she leaves her hometown of Boise, Idaho, travelling first to Los Angeles and then to Harlem, New York, in search of a community to which she can belong. In Harlem, Emma Lou finds an exciting, vibrant scene of nightclubs and dance halls and parties and love affairs ... but there is no escaping the shame she feels about the darkness of her skin. Written by an overlooked author of the Harlem Renaissance The Blacker the Berry is a vivid and disturbing portrait of a young woman who has been rejected by her own race. It is a strikingly relevant reflection on the role that skin colour plays in American society.

A groundbreaking, yet controversial novel of the Harlem Renaissance about a young, dark-skinned Black woman reckoning with colorism as she navigates 1920s Harlem, reissued and repackaged for the Herald Classics line. Emma Lou Morgan’s dark complexion is a source of sorrow and humiliation—not only to herself, but also to her lighter-skinned family members and the white community of her hometown, Boise, Idaho. Hoping to find a safe haven, Emma travels to New York’s Harlem, the Black Mecca of the 1920s. Wallace Thurman brings to life this legendary time and place in rich detail, describing Emma’s visits to nightclubs, dance halls, and house-rent parties, her sex life and catastrophic love affairs, her dreams and her disillusions—and the momentous decision she makes to survive. A lost classic of Black American literature, The Blacker the Berry is a compelling portrait of the destructive depth of intra-racial bias in the Black community.

Mirroring Nella Larsen's Passing, The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life is the fantastic debut of Wallace Thurman.A Black boy could get along but a Black girl would never know anything but sorrow and disappointment.Emma Lou was born black. Abandoned by her father at birth, she is subjected to skin bleaching by her mother, hoping to make her child more desirable. Learning that she is unwanted in white society but also ostracized within her own, Emma Lou navigates a harsh and unrelenting world as she tries to come to terms with her life and love herself in the skin she's in.Professionally typeset with a beautifully designed cover, this edition of The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life is a reimagining of a Harlem Renaissance staple for the modern reader.

“A Black boy could get along but a Black girl would never know anything but sorrow and disappointment.” Mirroring Nella Larsen’s Passing, The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life is the fantastic debut of Wallace Thurman.Emma Lou was born black. Abandoned by her father at birth, she is subject to skin bleaching by her mother who hopes to make the child more desirable. Learning that she is unwanted in white society but also ostracized within her own, Emma Lou navigates a harsh and unrelenting world as she tries to come to terms with her life and love herself in the skin she’s in.Professionally typeset with a beautifully designed cover, this edition of The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life is a reimaging of a Harlem Renaissance staple for the modern reader.

VINTAGE CLASSICS' HARLEM RENAISSANCE SERIESCelebrating the finest works of the Harlem Renaissance, one of the most important Black arts movements in modern history.'Why not? She's just as a good as the rest, and you know what they say, "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice"'Growing up, Emma Lou Morgan stuck out - her skin was the darkest in every room, even within her own home. With the encouragement of her uncle, Emma flees smalltown Idaho firstly to study in Los Angeles before travelling to Harlem. Though she enjoys the glamour of attending the theatre and the buzz of cabaret, every excursion is tinged with the fear of discrimination. Even in big cities, Emma cannot escape the bigotry of colourism, but can she change how it makes her feel about herself?The Blacker the Berry is an arrestingly vivid portrayal of how very deeply every facet of prejudice runs.'Thurman's novel presents some of the most layered portrayals of New York City life...from seedy employment agency waiting rooms to swank Harlem hot spots' NPR