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Quality
"She has written the most profound approach yet to the race issue. A superior piece of literature from all angles. Every word she writes is true." Birmingham News
Boston nursing school graduate Pinkey Johnson has blond hair, blue eyes and a secret-- she's actually black. She's managed to fit in naturally among her new friends in the North, but she never quite fit within the small, southern town she came from. But now, on the eve of marrying a white doctor, and forced to tell him the truth about herself, she returns to Mississippi, where she must face the racism and inequities that are a way of life for blacks in the south of the 1940s. And yet she stays, struggling to find both herself and her place in a world that's dangerously black and white.
This powerful, controversial novel, published in 1946, was adapted three years later into the acclaimed Elia Kazan-directed classic Pinky, which starred Jeanne Crain and earned multiple Oscar nominations.
Author Cid Ricketts Sumner (1890-1970) was a Mississippi native who went to medical school in the north, married one of her professors and, following a divorce, eventually moved back to the south for some years. She went on to write Tammy Out of Time, which led to four successful movies, a hit single, and 1960s situation comedy. When she was 80 years-old, Sumner was brutally murdered by her teenage grandson.
"Packed with social and political dynamite, but devoid of maudlin sentimentality, which sets it apart from other novels on the subject. Sumner displays profound compassion and an innate sense of justice. It should be widely read, only only because of the vital problem with which it deals, but because it is a good book written with complete honesty and sincerity" Hartford Courant
"A compelling, thought-provoking story, sympathetically told." Marshfield News-Herald
"A minor classic, a novel written with compassion rather than passion, a quiet restraint that is even more effective." The Commercial Appeal
"An intelligently-handled novel, sympathetically written. " Portland Press-Herald
Boston nursing school graduate Pinkey Johnson has blond hair, blue eyes and a secret-- she's actually black. She's managed to fit in naturally among her new friends in the North, but she never quite fit within the small, southern town she came from. But now, on the eve of marrying a white doctor, and forced to tell him the truth about herself, she returns to Mississippi, where she must face the racism and inequities that are a way of life for blacks in the south of the 1940s. And yet she stays, struggling to find both herself and her place in a world that's dangerously black and white.
This powerful, controversial novel, published in 1946, was adapted three years later into the acclaimed Elia Kazan-directed classic Pinky, which starred Jeanne Crain and earned multiple Oscar nominations.
Author Cid Ricketts Sumner (1890-1970) was a Mississippi native who went to medical school in the north, married one of her professors and, following a divorce, eventually moved back to the south for some years. She went on to write Tammy Out of Time, which led to four successful movies, a hit single, and 1960s situation comedy. When she was 80 years-old, Sumner was brutally murdered by her teenage grandson.
"Packed with social and political dynamite, but devoid of maudlin sentimentality, which sets it apart from other novels on the subject. Sumner displays profound compassion and an innate sense of justice. It should be widely read, only only because of the vital problem with which it deals, but because it is a good book written with complete honesty and sincerity" Hartford Courant
"A compelling, thought-provoking story, sympathetically told." Marshfield News-Herald
"A minor classic, a novel written with compassion rather than passion, a quiet restraint that is even more effective." The Commercial Appeal
"An intelligently-handled novel, sympathetically written. " Portland Press-Herald
- GenresFiction
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First published November 1, 1947
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 24, 2015
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2017
The basis for the movie "Pinky," about an African American girl who "passes" as Caucasian only to return to her hometown, Quality is another excellent novel from Cid Ricketts Smith. I can see why so many movies were made from her books - her stories are engrossing and filled with humanity without making that all-too-easy crossover into tear-jerking soap opera.
The movie strays somewhat from the book, the latter offering additional contemporary characters, depth, and complexity. (The former has Jeanne Crain, directed by Elia Kazan, co-starring with Ethel Waters and Ethel Barrymore - watch for it on Turner Classic Movies. Like the book, it was quite controversial when first released.)
The movie strays somewhat from the book, the latter offering additional contemporary characters, depth, and complexity. (The former has Jeanne Crain, directed by Elia Kazan, co-starring with Ethel Waters and Ethel Barrymore - watch for it on Turner Classic Movies. Like the book, it was quite controversial when first released.)
September 10, 2017
The synopsis suggests that this is a love story, but it is not at all - it is about a young woman returning to the South and having to deal with the racist environment that would like to see her as white and then mistreats her when it realizes she also has black ancestors. Written in 1946, the story, the thoughts and ideas clearly connect to the later Civil Rights movement, showing how that movement has a long history. Definitely worth reading!
January 19, 2020
An excellent story about race, self-image, and honor.
🔥 Recommended.
🔥 Recommended.
September 10, 2025
I've watched the movie that is based on this book numerous times and wanted to read it. Liked having more of Pinkey's thoughts open to me.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews