Published in 1992
278 pages
Nellallitea ‘Nella’ Larsen (first called Nellie Walker) was an American novelist of the Harlem Renaissance who wrote two novels and a few short stories while working as a nurse and librarian. Though her literary output was scant, what she wrote earned her recognition by her contemporaries and by present-day critics. The gifted writer wrote compelling dramas about the black middle class that featured sensitive, spirited heroines struggling to find a place where they belonged. She completed three other novels in her lifetime but all of them got rejected. Unfortunately, those stories are lost to us forever.
What is this book about?
A great short story collection from Larsen, she manages to capture in these tales the disillusionment and feeling of never truly belonging to those stuck between two worlds and never feeling at home in either. Whether it’s outright “Passing” or the constantly moving, trying vainly to find your place, while sinking further into the “Quicksand” of the race question, these strike home in a very personal way. You can feel the soul crushing pressure of not belonging because you’re not black enough to be black and not white enough be white, forever being in-between two extremes. Larsen’s novels were out of print and undervalued for a long time, but in this collection you get to read her complete works, learn more about her personal life and the Harlem Renaissance as a whole.
