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The Narrows
"Petry is the writer we have been waiting for, hers are the stories we need to fully illuminate the questions of our moment, while also offering a page-turning good time. Ann Petry, the woman, had it all, and so does her insightful, prescient and unputdownable prose . . . The Narrows is the story of a doomed interracial romance that proves that passion and prejudice are not mutually exclusive" - Tayari Jones, New York Times
Link Williams is a handsome and brilliant Dartmouth graduate who tends bar due to the lack of better opportunities for an African American man in a mid-century Connecticut town. The routine of Link's life is interrupted when he intervenes to save a woman from a late-night attack. Due to the thick fog rolling in from the river, they cannot easily discern each other, so it is only when they enter a bar for a drink that Camillo sees her rescuer is black and Link learns that the woman is white. Camilo (Camilla Treadway Sheffield) is beautiful, wealthy and married: she has crossed the town's racial divide to relieve the tedium of her life. Brought together by chance, Link and Camilo draw each other into furtive encounters that violate the rigid and uncompromising social codes of their times.
Link Williams is a handsome and brilliant Dartmouth graduate who tends bar due to the lack of better opportunities for an African American man in a mid-century Connecticut town. The routine of Link's life is interrupted when he intervenes to save a woman from a late-night attack. Due to the thick fog rolling in from the river, they cannot easily discern each other, so it is only when they enter a bar for a drink that Camillo sees her rescuer is black and Link learns that the woman is white. Camilo (Camilla Treadway Sheffield) is beautiful, wealthy and married: she has crossed the town's racial divide to relieve the tedium of her life. Brought together by chance, Link and Camilo draw each other into furtive encounters that violate the rigid and uncompromising social codes of their times.
528 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1953
85 people are currently reading
5580 people want to read
About the author
Ann Petry
25 books416 followersAnn Petry (October 12, 1908 – April 28, 1997) was an American author who became the first black woman writer with book sales topping a million copies for her novel The Street.
The wish to become a professional writer was raised in Ann for the first time in high school when her English teacher read her essay to the class commenting on it with the words: “I honestly believe that you could be a writer if you wanted to.” The decision to become a pharmacist was her family’s. She turned up in college and graduated with a Ph.G. degree from Connecticut College of Pharmacy in New Haven in 1931 and worked in the family business for several years. She also began to write short stories while she was working at the pharmacy.
On February 22, 1938, she married George D. Petry of New Iberia, Louisiana, which brought Petry to New York. She not only wrote articles for newspapers such as The Amsterdam News, or The People's Voice, and published short stories in The Crisis, but also worked at an after-school program at P.S. 10 in Harlem. It was during this period of her life that she had realized and personally experienced what the majority of the black population of the United States had to go through in their everyday life.
Traversing the streets of Harlem, living for the first time among large numbers of poor black people, seeing neglected children up close – Petry's early years in New York inevitably made impressions on her. Impacted by her Harlem experiences, Ann Petry used her creative writing skills to bring this experience to paper. Her daughter Liz explained to the Washington Post that “her way of dealing with the problem was to write this book, which maybe was something that people who had grown up in Harlem couldn’t do.”
Petry's most popular novel The Street was published in 1946 and won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship with book sales topping a million copies.
Back in Old Saybrook in 1947, the writer worked on Country Place (1947), The Narrows (1953), other stories, and books for children, but they have never achieved the same success as her first book. Until her death Petry lived in an 18th-century house in her hometown, Old Saybrook. She drew on her personal experiences of the hurricane in Old Saybrook in her 1947 novel, Country Place. Although the novel is set in the immediate aftermath of World War II, Petry identified the 1938 New England huricane as the source for the storm that is at the center of her narrative. Ann Lane Petry died at the age of 88 on April 28, 1997. She was outlived by her husband, George Petry, who died in 2000, and her only daughter, Liz Petry.
(from Wikipedia)
The wish to become a professional writer was raised in Ann for the first time in high school when her English teacher read her essay to the class commenting on it with the words: “I honestly believe that you could be a writer if you wanted to.” The decision to become a pharmacist was her family’s. She turned up in college and graduated with a Ph.G. degree from Connecticut College of Pharmacy in New Haven in 1931 and worked in the family business for several years. She also began to write short stories while she was working at the pharmacy.
On February 22, 1938, she married George D. Petry of New Iberia, Louisiana, which brought Petry to New York. She not only wrote articles for newspapers such as The Amsterdam News, or The People's Voice, and published short stories in The Crisis, but also worked at an after-school program at P.S. 10 in Harlem. It was during this period of her life that she had realized and personally experienced what the majority of the black population of the United States had to go through in their everyday life.
Traversing the streets of Harlem, living for the first time among large numbers of poor black people, seeing neglected children up close – Petry's early years in New York inevitably made impressions on her. Impacted by her Harlem experiences, Ann Petry used her creative writing skills to bring this experience to paper. Her daughter Liz explained to the Washington Post that “her way of dealing with the problem was to write this book, which maybe was something that people who had grown up in Harlem couldn’t do.”
Petry's most popular novel The Street was published in 1946 and won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship with book sales topping a million copies.
Back in Old Saybrook in 1947, the writer worked on Country Place (1947), The Narrows (1953), other stories, and books for children, but they have never achieved the same success as her first book. Until her death Petry lived in an 18th-century house in her hometown, Old Saybrook. She drew on her personal experiences of the hurricane in Old Saybrook in her 1947 novel, Country Place. Although the novel is set in the immediate aftermath of World War II, Petry identified the 1938 New England huricane as the source for the storm that is at the center of her narrative. Ann Lane Petry died at the age of 88 on April 28, 1997. She was outlived by her husband, George Petry, who died in 2000, and her only daughter, Liz Petry.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
February 11, 2021
What can't Ann Petry do? Although this question seems to have some level of difficulty—since you more than likely never had the chance to know Ann Petry personally—it's simply an illusion. The answer is simple: Ann Petry cannot write a bad novel.
A lot of people (although not nearly enough) are familiar with The Street and would use that as a part of their reasoning for that answer, but The Narrows is another reason that should be leveraged.
An ambitious & complex novel narrated by someone omniscient with guest appearances from several residents of the fictional town of Monmouth, Connecticut. You may even refer to them as guest interruptions, considering the sharp changes in perspective that occur without a moment's notice.
That's because in The Narrows or Darktown or Niggertown or Little Harlem, etc. they've learned the importance of controlling the narrative. The residents of that town know that if you don't tell your story, and you live in the United States, then the whites will.
And who wins when that happens?
Why have the owner of the Monmouth Chronicle, Peter Bullock (although it is really run by the rich ass Treadways), tell the story of The Narrows when you have a Ivy League educated, and re-educated, historian, Link Williams, serving drinks over at The Last Chance, under the supervision of Bill Hod & the mentorship of Weak Knees, readily available to tell it? He'll tell you that & the history of the U.S itself!
Link is chosen because residents like Abbie Crunch, Frances K. Jackson or Malcolm Powther would probably say things similar to Bullock.
Mamie & J.C. would probably hold it down though.
Ann Petry flawlessly delivers us a world of deceit, betrayal, corruption, payola, lust, scandal, racism, classism, love, humor, passion & MORE. This novel's warning should say: YOU ARE NOW WATCHING A MASTER AT WORK.
Sadly the literary world decided this novel had to take a backseat to the Invisible Man's & Go Tell It On The Mountain's of the time. Another warning: ONLY ONE OF YOU CAN SHINE PER YEAR.
Let's circle back now that you are fully aware of the illusion.
What is it, again, that Ann Petry can't do?
------------------------------------------------
This is my first entry into my 2021 edition of the #2BooksUnder50Reviews Challenge. My hope if that a masterpiece like this will take it's rightful place in history and no longer be as underread as it is. Crazy to think that a novel as good this, which was first published in 1953, has under 50 Goodreads reviews.
A lot of people (although not nearly enough) are familiar with The Street and would use that as a part of their reasoning for that answer, but The Narrows is another reason that should be leveraged.
An ambitious & complex novel narrated by someone omniscient with guest appearances from several residents of the fictional town of Monmouth, Connecticut. You may even refer to them as guest interruptions, considering the sharp changes in perspective that occur without a moment's notice.
That's because in The Narrows or Darktown or Niggertown or Little Harlem, etc. they've learned the importance of controlling the narrative. The residents of that town know that if you don't tell your story, and you live in the United States, then the whites will.
And who wins when that happens?
Why have the owner of the Monmouth Chronicle, Peter Bullock (although it is really run by the rich ass Treadways), tell the story of The Narrows when you have a Ivy League educated, and re-educated, historian, Link Williams, serving drinks over at The Last Chance, under the supervision of Bill Hod & the mentorship of Weak Knees, readily available to tell it? He'll tell you that & the history of the U.S itself!
Link is chosen because residents like Abbie Crunch, Frances K. Jackson or Malcolm Powther would probably say things similar to Bullock.
Mamie & J.C. would probably hold it down though.
Ann Petry flawlessly delivers us a world of deceit, betrayal, corruption, payola, lust, scandal, racism, classism, love, humor, passion & MORE. This novel's warning should say: YOU ARE NOW WATCHING A MASTER AT WORK.
Sadly the literary world decided this novel had to take a backseat to the Invisible Man's & Go Tell It On The Mountain's of the time. Another warning: ONLY ONE OF YOU CAN SHINE PER YEAR.
Let's circle back now that you are fully aware of the illusion.
What is it, again, that Ann Petry can't do?
------------------------------------------------
This is my first entry into my 2021 edition of the #2BooksUnder50Reviews Challenge. My hope if that a masterpiece like this will take it's rightful place in history and no longer be as underread as it is. Crazy to think that a novel as good this, which was first published in 1953, has under 50 Goodreads reviews.
April 1, 2024
10 Stars! ⭐
If Elegance and Sophistication could walk with Audacity this Novel would be the Exampler!
This thought provoking literary work was Ann Petry's third novel and was originally published in 1953. "Is It Possible To Care About Something That May Cause Harm To You?"
The Narrows is a black neighborhood in Monmouth, Connecticut. It is also called Eye of the Needle, The Bottom, Little Harlem, Dark Town, and far worse to some other folks that know of the area. Meticulously, Ann Petry indeed paints an imagery of Elegance in this novel as Link Williams appears in this story. As he grows into character, he becomes a Powerhouse Intellectual; graduating from Dartmouth and enlisting in the Navy for four years. He always thought in his mind, "I will do the impossible. I will be the impossible. Because of you. I wasn't certain I could, I had doubts about it, but not any more."
Undoubedly, this Author initates this novel with her pleasureable, serene Tranquilty and Wisdom introducing Abbie Crunch to begin the readers on Dumble Street. If you have previously read an Ann Petry novel, you can literally prepare yourself because you can FEEL that she is about to swiftly shift the mood of the story. And, she did exactly that when she launches into her Gift of Descriptive Imagery getting us aquainted with "The Hangman!" LOVED IT! This is just only 1 Reason Ann Petry has become my Favorite Author this Year.
This Author so cleverly tiptoes and arranges each character and their narratives in this novel so very cautiously and, strategticly. We learn of Mr. Powther and his wife, Mamie. Their son, J.C., Frances, Bill Hod, Weak Knees, Camilo, so and many more. The lovely Ann Petry introdues these characters so surprisingly that it the keeps the eader's curiosity enthrally awakened with excitement! This novel is written in a manner that enables readers to explore the deep, intimate thoughts of every character in the Narrows and Monmouth, Connecticut.
Because this Jewel is written in the third person, narrated in flashback episodes, it is considered a complex novel. It also jumps very swiftly; shifting from character to character and scenes. Due to the frequent flashbacks, it can almost have you thinking that you are reading this novel backwards. I mean..Impeccable! This novel has been written like a Brilliant Puzzle Pieced Together In Its Splendor!
Link Williams was standing in his favorite spot on the dock one night. He hears a woman running in fright. Excerpt: "Did the canary get out of the cage?"
This is yet another unforgettable novel by Ann Petry. With this Flawless piece, she has written a novel that recounts each characters' contribution to such a Fate because of racism and color conflicts. Just when you think she couldn't shower this novel with anything more than Marvelous. This Beautiful Author adds another plot about the Finnish People. I Forgot to mention, within this Jewel there are other numerous stories that will blow your mind! She.Can.Tell.And.Write.A.Story. 🥀
There are three more novels in this Collection: including, The Street, Miss Muriel and Other Stories, and Country Place: A Novel. I have 2 more to read and I am looking forward to buying to this entire
Collection. So Delighted that Ann Petry's Work has come back to Life after all these Years. ❤️
If Elegance and Sophistication could walk with Audacity this Novel would be the Exampler!
This thought provoking literary work was Ann Petry's third novel and was originally published in 1953. "Is It Possible To Care About Something That May Cause Harm To You?"
The Narrows is a black neighborhood in Monmouth, Connecticut. It is also called Eye of the Needle, The Bottom, Little Harlem, Dark Town, and far worse to some other folks that know of the area. Meticulously, Ann Petry indeed paints an imagery of Elegance in this novel as Link Williams appears in this story. As he grows into character, he becomes a Powerhouse Intellectual; graduating from Dartmouth and enlisting in the Navy for four years. He always thought in his mind, "I will do the impossible. I will be the impossible. Because of you. I wasn't certain I could, I had doubts about it, but not any more."
Undoubedly, this Author initates this novel with her pleasureable, serene Tranquilty and Wisdom introducing Abbie Crunch to begin the readers on Dumble Street. If you have previously read an Ann Petry novel, you can literally prepare yourself because you can FEEL that she is about to swiftly shift the mood of the story. And, she did exactly that when she launches into her Gift of Descriptive Imagery getting us aquainted with "The Hangman!" LOVED IT! This is just only 1 Reason Ann Petry has become my Favorite Author this Year.
This Author so cleverly tiptoes and arranges each character and their narratives in this novel so very cautiously and, strategticly. We learn of Mr. Powther and his wife, Mamie. Their son, J.C., Frances, Bill Hod, Weak Knees, Camilo, so and many more. The lovely Ann Petry introdues these characters so surprisingly that it the keeps the eader's curiosity enthrally awakened with excitement! This novel is written in a manner that enables readers to explore the deep, intimate thoughts of every character in the Narrows and Monmouth, Connecticut.
Because this Jewel is written in the third person, narrated in flashback episodes, it is considered a complex novel. It also jumps very swiftly; shifting from character to character and scenes. Due to the frequent flashbacks, it can almost have you thinking that you are reading this novel backwards. I mean..Impeccable! This novel has been written like a Brilliant Puzzle Pieced Together In Its Splendor!
Link Williams was standing in his favorite spot on the dock one night. He hears a woman running in fright. Excerpt: "Did the canary get out of the cage?"
This is yet another unforgettable novel by Ann Petry. With this Flawless piece, she has written a novel that recounts each characters' contribution to such a Fate because of racism and color conflicts. Just when you think she couldn't shower this novel with anything more than Marvelous. This Beautiful Author adds another plot about the Finnish People. I Forgot to mention, within this Jewel there are other numerous stories that will blow your mind! She.Can.Tell.And.Write.A.Story. 🥀
There are three more novels in this Collection: including, The Street, Miss Muriel and Other Stories, and Country Place: A Novel. I have 2 more to read and I am looking forward to buying to this entire
Collection. So Delighted that Ann Petry's Work has come back to Life after all these Years. ❤️
December 20, 2017
With this classic, I felt transported back in time to societal norms that demonized black people and promoted white supremacy, but then I remembered that still happens today!
January 13, 2022
I really do not have time to write a review. I am jotting down my personal thoughts. I want to make clear why I give the book three stars.
There is a particular style to the prose. The prose is not ordinary. There is a rhythm to it. The sentences are short. Words are repeated. There is an artsy feel to the verse, but this leads sometimes to confusion and lack of clarity.
Furthermore, the characters are not properly identified. You learn about them, but important information is filled n later. This further enhances one's confusion. "Who is that?" too often popped into my head. Nor did I feel empathy for the characters. I observed them from a distance. I spent time analyzing them in an attempt to figure out if what they did was feasible, possible, believable. The infidelity of a few is so flagrant it annoyed me. It is as though the characters are in the story to deliver a message. The message to be delivered is more important than the characters.
The story circles around the discriminations of Blacks, the setting being the East Coast, i.e. Connecticut and New York City, during the 1950s. The ambiance of the era and place is well done--you know where you are before you are told! Bad things happen. Who is to blame? ALL the people of the community were to blame. This message I do like, and there is a twist at the end that gives one hope. Good ending--realistic but with a chance for improvement.
The audiobook is read by Jeannette Robinson. I thought her pronunciation of names unclear. She stresses the rhythm of the prose. I think this makes the text harder to understand. I want to hear the words to ponder their meaning. Art for art's sake is not to my liking. I prefer clarity. Heck, the reading isn't bad, but it could have been better. Three stars for the narration.
This is worth reading, but I don't love it.
************************'***
*The Street 4 stars
*Checkup 3 stars
*The Narrows 3 stars
There is a particular style to the prose. The prose is not ordinary. There is a rhythm to it. The sentences are short. Words are repeated. There is an artsy feel to the verse, but this leads sometimes to confusion and lack of clarity.
Furthermore, the characters are not properly identified. You learn about them, but important information is filled n later. This further enhances one's confusion. "Who is that?" too often popped into my head. Nor did I feel empathy for the characters. I observed them from a distance. I spent time analyzing them in an attempt to figure out if what they did was feasible, possible, believable. The infidelity of a few is so flagrant it annoyed me. It is as though the characters are in the story to deliver a message. The message to be delivered is more important than the characters.
The story circles around the discriminations of Blacks, the setting being the East Coast, i.e. Connecticut and New York City, during the 1950s. The ambiance of the era and place is well done--you know where you are before you are told! Bad things happen. Who is to blame? ALL the people of the community were to blame. This message I do like, and there is a twist at the end that gives one hope. Good ending--realistic but with a chance for improvement.
The audiobook is read by Jeannette Robinson. I thought her pronunciation of names unclear. She stresses the rhythm of the prose. I think this makes the text harder to understand. I want to hear the words to ponder their meaning. Art for art's sake is not to my liking. I prefer clarity. Heck, the reading isn't bad, but it could have been better. Three stars for the narration.
This is worth reading, but I don't love it.
************************'***
*The Street 4 stars
*Checkup 3 stars
*The Narrows 3 stars
Want to read
April 17, 2019"It seems to me that all truly great art is propaganda," says Ann Petry as quoted in this NY Times piece. Tayari Jones has recently been yelling about her as well. I loved The Street and I would like to read this.
June 2, 2022
Link Williams und Camilo - die beiden verbindet eine Liebe, die nicht sein darf. Link ist Schwarz, gutaussehend, Dartmouth-Absolvent und jobbt aufgrund fehlender Möglichkeiten in den USA der 1950er Jahre in einer Bar. Camilo hingegen ist weiß, privilegiert, gedankenlos. Jedes Treffen könnte in einer Katastrophe enden und doch können sie nicht ohne einander. Bis Link herausfindet, wer Camilo wirklich ist und versucht, sich von ihr loszumachen - mit fatalen Folgen.
Wer ein mal einen Roman von Ann Petry gelesen hat, kommt von ihrem unverkennbaren Stil nicht mehr los. Die 1997 verstorbene Autorin ist die erste Schwarze Frau, deren Bücher sich millionenfach verkauften, in ihren Romanen bricht sie mit gesellschaftlichen Tabus und beschäftigen sich mit der Frage, was es bedeutet, Afroamerikaner*in beziehungsweise weiß zu sein, sowie mit Rassismus in all seinen Facetten. In ihrem letzten Roman "The Narrows", der dank dem Nagel & Kimche Verlag und der Übersetzerin Pieke Biermann nun endlich auch auf Deutsch vorliegt, beobachtet Ann Petry aber nicht nur rassistische Strukturen, sondern behandelt auch Klassismus und Sensations-Journalismus. In ihrer gewohnt fesselnden Art zeichnet sie eine Geschichte voller Abgründe und Figuren, die alle ihre Ecken und Kanten haben, sie zieht die Lesenden in ein Bild der Gesellschaft, das auch heute nichts an Aktualität eingebüßt hat.
Eigentlich ist die Geschichte von Link und Camilo schnell erzählt. Ab einem gewissen Punkt ist sie auch sehr vorhersehbar. Gerade deshalb ist die Erzählung aber auch so erschütternd. Durch die vielen Nebencharaktere, die alle ihre eigene tragende Rolle spielen, erhält der Roman dazu nochmals eine riesige Komplexität, die die über 500 Seiten des Buches zwar rechtfertigt, für meinen Geschmack aber einfach etwas zu ausschweifend und detailliert behandelt wurde. Anders als "The Street" und "Country Place" ist "The Narrows" sehr umfassend, sehr kolossal und wuchtig, was einerseits eine wirklich eingehende und umfangreiche Gesellschaftsstudie ermöglicht, andererseits aber etwas die Dynamik und Spannung, die ich sonst bei Ann Petry so mochte, doch sehr geschmälert hat.
Wenn ihr die Werke von Ann Petry entdecken möchtet - was ich euch unbedingt empfehle! - würde ich vielleicht zum Start nicht zu "The Narrows" greifen. Steigt mit "The Street" ein, begebt euch mit "Country Place" aufs Land und widmet euch erst dann "The Narrows". Denn dass der Roman unbedingt gelesen werden sollte, steht außer Frage. Allerdings sollte man viel Zeit und Konzentration mitbringen, um dieses üppige Werk zu genießen.
Wer ein mal einen Roman von Ann Petry gelesen hat, kommt von ihrem unverkennbaren Stil nicht mehr los. Die 1997 verstorbene Autorin ist die erste Schwarze Frau, deren Bücher sich millionenfach verkauften, in ihren Romanen bricht sie mit gesellschaftlichen Tabus und beschäftigen sich mit der Frage, was es bedeutet, Afroamerikaner*in beziehungsweise weiß zu sein, sowie mit Rassismus in all seinen Facetten. In ihrem letzten Roman "The Narrows", der dank dem Nagel & Kimche Verlag und der Übersetzerin Pieke Biermann nun endlich auch auf Deutsch vorliegt, beobachtet Ann Petry aber nicht nur rassistische Strukturen, sondern behandelt auch Klassismus und Sensations-Journalismus. In ihrer gewohnt fesselnden Art zeichnet sie eine Geschichte voller Abgründe und Figuren, die alle ihre Ecken und Kanten haben, sie zieht die Lesenden in ein Bild der Gesellschaft, das auch heute nichts an Aktualität eingebüßt hat.
Eigentlich ist die Geschichte von Link und Camilo schnell erzählt. Ab einem gewissen Punkt ist sie auch sehr vorhersehbar. Gerade deshalb ist die Erzählung aber auch so erschütternd. Durch die vielen Nebencharaktere, die alle ihre eigene tragende Rolle spielen, erhält der Roman dazu nochmals eine riesige Komplexität, die die über 500 Seiten des Buches zwar rechtfertigt, für meinen Geschmack aber einfach etwas zu ausschweifend und detailliert behandelt wurde. Anders als "The Street" und "Country Place" ist "The Narrows" sehr umfassend, sehr kolossal und wuchtig, was einerseits eine wirklich eingehende und umfangreiche Gesellschaftsstudie ermöglicht, andererseits aber etwas die Dynamik und Spannung, die ich sonst bei Ann Petry so mochte, doch sehr geschmälert hat.
Wenn ihr die Werke von Ann Petry entdecken möchtet - was ich euch unbedingt empfehle! - würde ich vielleicht zum Start nicht zu "The Narrows" greifen. Steigt mit "The Street" ein, begebt euch mit "Country Place" aufs Land und widmet euch erst dann "The Narrows". Denn dass der Roman unbedingt gelesen werden sollte, steht außer Frage. Allerdings sollte man viel Zeit und Konzentration mitbringen, um dieses üppige Werk zu genießen.
January 25, 2024
I enjoyed this third and last novel by Ann Petry as much as I did her earlier two novels, perhaps even more. The Narrows is the Negro section of Monmouth, a small New England town. It lies right on the river. Link Williams, the adopted son of a genteel Black widow, happens to meet Camilo Treadway Sheffield one night down by the docks. It is dark. As Link saves Camilo from a man who is pursuing her, he and she have no idea that Link is Black and Camilo is White.
Link is a college educated young man while Camilo is the daughter of a wealthy family. They fall in love, but the reader knows that they are most likely doomed. Meanwhile much is going on among the Blacks in Monmouth and tensions are also building in Camilo’s family.
Ann Petry shows an increased skill as she whirls around and around through the viewpoints of her characters, revealing their back stories and their aspirations. The story mesmerized me as well as left me feeling unsettled. Each of the many main characters is fully drawn but so is the inevitable tension that underlies all relations between Black and White people in America, whether it is the 1950s or 2024. The tortured emotions of these people was just short of unbearable because that is the way it is.
I found many parallels between Ms Petry and James Baldwin in terms of the deep intelligence behind their portrayals of racism in America. Unfortunately, Ann Petry declined to publish any more novels due to the invasions of her privacy after the great success she had as an author.
Link is a college educated young man while Camilo is the daughter of a wealthy family. They fall in love, but the reader knows that they are most likely doomed. Meanwhile much is going on among the Blacks in Monmouth and tensions are also building in Camilo’s family.
Ann Petry shows an increased skill as she whirls around and around through the viewpoints of her characters, revealing their back stories and their aspirations. The story mesmerized me as well as left me feeling unsettled. Each of the many main characters is fully drawn but so is the inevitable tension that underlies all relations between Black and White people in America, whether it is the 1950s or 2024. The tortured emotions of these people was just short of unbearable because that is the way it is.
I found many parallels between Ms Petry and James Baldwin in terms of the deep intelligence behind their portrayals of racism in America. Unfortunately, Ann Petry declined to publish any more novels due to the invasions of her privacy after the great success she had as an author.
March 27, 2017
Ann Petry's book TITUBA of SALEM VILLAGE was one of my favorite childhood reads, taken from the library over and over, and this has me excited to read that again. I've just returned from AWP where there was a lot of talk about race in literature and Petry's ambition and humanity speaks to that. As a writer I'm intrigued with her decision to cover so many characters in a mix of third and "close third" and also to move back and forth in time-- considering the advantages and disadvantages of this approach for this particular book (and in general). Ann Petry grew up as one of the few Black residents of her New England town and you can see that influence here. Her insight into human nature and also how people interact across gender, ethnicity and class -- as well as the sheer readability of her work-- should keep her in circulation as much as mid-century writers like Wright, McCarthy etc. Petry does some beautiful things with language. I had some issues with some of the dialogue and also with tracking some of the story line. Highly recommend
June 1, 2025
4,5 Stars
March 31, 2023
****1/2
February 17, 2021
In a 1992 interview with 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵, Ann Petry expressed her constant rumination on the concepts of race and class, power and media, and misogyny and femininity—all manifesting themselves as a recurring specter for her—one that has been echoed in her writing ever since she dropped the bomb known as 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵, a behemoth that was the first novel by an African American woman to sell over a million copies.
These ideas haunted Petry—presenting her with the persistent reality that progress is often mutation, a repackaging of an unwanted gift wrapped in a box from last year with shiny new papers. She found herself constantly confronted with each of these in familiar ways year after year, decade after decade, and she sought to allow her novels to function as picture frames holding life in forgotten American communities up for us to see and reckon with.
In 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔, Petry presents the often forbidden interracial relationship utilizing the characters Link Williams + Camilla (Camilo) Treadway-Sheffield in a story cemented and illustrated by a complex, lyrically driven community narrative per Petry’s patented style. When I say lyrical, I’d be remiss to not say I don’t want that word to occupy an approachable musical space in your mind, because this is more A-Love-Supreme-John-Coltrane density level than ouuu-that’s-my-sh**. It takes time and careful consideration to unlock the power in these sentences. Petry employs a myriad of technical aspects to start and stop dialogue, to stream the characters consciousness from a narrator who isn’t afraid to give up third-person ownership for a sec to allow a character first person shine in order to drive home their experience.
Petry was like: is it worth it? Let me work it... I’ll put my thang down, flip it and reverse it.
Yea. 🔥
If you’re willing to do the work, the ending is a look at what it’s like to weave ornate webbings textually. You’ll see how those big puzzles that we avoid in the Walmart toy section actual go-together + are actually quite beautiful when somebody who’s got the time takes the time to put them together for us... #ReadAnnPetry right now cuh❗️
These ideas haunted Petry—presenting her with the persistent reality that progress is often mutation, a repackaging of an unwanted gift wrapped in a box from last year with shiny new papers. She found herself constantly confronted with each of these in familiar ways year after year, decade after decade, and she sought to allow her novels to function as picture frames holding life in forgotten American communities up for us to see and reckon with.
In 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔, Petry presents the often forbidden interracial relationship utilizing the characters Link Williams + Camilla (Camilo) Treadway-Sheffield in a story cemented and illustrated by a complex, lyrically driven community narrative per Petry’s patented style. When I say lyrical, I’d be remiss to not say I don’t want that word to occupy an approachable musical space in your mind, because this is more A-Love-Supreme-John-Coltrane density level than ouuu-that’s-my-sh**. It takes time and careful consideration to unlock the power in these sentences. Petry employs a myriad of technical aspects to start and stop dialogue, to stream the characters consciousness from a narrator who isn’t afraid to give up third-person ownership for a sec to allow a character first person shine in order to drive home their experience.
Petry was like: is it worth it? Let me work it... I’ll put my thang down, flip it and reverse it.
Yea. 🔥
If you’re willing to do the work, the ending is a look at what it’s like to weave ornate webbings textually. You’ll see how those big puzzles that we avoid in the Walmart toy section actual go-together + are actually quite beautiful when somebody who’s got the time takes the time to put them together for us... #ReadAnnPetry right now cuh❗️
August 22, 2020
"The Narrows," by Ann Petry is the type of book one could easily discuss in a College Literature class for a week or more. It is the type of book that a Professor could have his students write an essay on, allowing them countless directions and possibilities that they could choose to expound upon.
It is a novel filled with amazing, unforgettable characters, many whose presence in the book only take up a few pages of the 430 pages that compromise the book.
It is a book without a conclusion because one is left with many unanswered questions, but whose characters are so well defined that you could come up with countless possibilities of how they will seek revenge.
It is a book that focuses on the racial divide between blacks and whites, the divide between the super rich and the people living on the other side of the river. It is about the destructive nature of tabloid journalism, and the social stereotypes that still exist to this very day.
It is a book I wish never had to end. It is simply brilliant.
It is a novel filled with amazing, unforgettable characters, many whose presence in the book only take up a few pages of the 430 pages that compromise the book.
It is a book without a conclusion because one is left with many unanswered questions, but whose characters are so well defined that you could come up with countless possibilities of how they will seek revenge.
It is a book that focuses on the racial divide between blacks and whites, the divide between the super rich and the people living on the other side of the river. It is about the destructive nature of tabloid journalism, and the social stereotypes that still exist to this very day.
It is a book I wish never had to end. It is simply brilliant.
November 2, 2021
I admire this book deeply, but this must be my first comment, as I have just finished reading and this is my biggest feeling: It is LOOOOOOOONG! It felt like it took me forever to work my through it--in part because there's so much good stuff to take in (there really is), but also because basically every plot development involves a 2+ page recalling of memories, or character histories, or stories, or train of consciousness, etc. It was not my thing. BUT
Everything else is wonderful. The characters, the world building, the plot, the observations on social norms and dangers. MULTIPLE characters who you love and hate. I spent the entirety of this book right there with Camillo and Link, and everyone else. I don't know that I have read a book set in this time period of African American history--between the Harlem Renaissance and the early days of the civil rights movement-- so that was cool too.
I found Petry's exploration of colorism in The Narrows (especially through Abbie) to be one of its best done elements.
This was my second book by Petry and I'll for sure keep reading her work. The Narrows would be a wonderful tool to teach or discuss racism and its intersection with class, gender, and more. It's a sexy plot that is actually a deeply educational and thought provoking novel; it is not hard to see why it was so successful.
Everything else is wonderful. The characters, the world building, the plot, the observations on social norms and dangers. MULTIPLE characters who you love and hate. I spent the entirety of this book right there with Camillo and Link, and everyone else. I don't know that I have read a book set in this time period of African American history--between the Harlem Renaissance and the early days of the civil rights movement-- so that was cool too.
I found Petry's exploration of colorism in The Narrows (especially through Abbie) to be one of its best done elements.
This was my second book by Petry and I'll for sure keep reading her work. The Narrows would be a wonderful tool to teach or discuss racism and its intersection with class, gender, and more. It's a sexy plot that is actually a deeply educational and thought provoking novel; it is not hard to see why it was so successful.
November 9, 2013
Such a pertinent novel today in terms of racial boundary framed by an irresponsible media. Not the best known from Petry but my personal favorite. Must-do reading for anyone interested in early media machinery.
April 14, 2021
I have no words.....Best book I've read this year. Honestly didn't think it was possible for Ann Petry to top "The Street" but this surpassed all expectations ... truly a masterwork.
April 28, 2020
“The way she explained it made him feel as though he were carrying The Race around with him all the time. It kept him confused, a little frightened, too. At that moment The Race sat astride his shoulders, a weight so great his back bent under it.”
I have seen the Narrows in history books, I have seen them spoken of in Stamped, Ghosts in the Schoolyard, 1919 and have seen the street talked about in the news, history books and known of the Narrows people think exist in Chicago. In 428 pages, Ann Petry potently displays social commentary against class and race set against the backdrop of the Narrows, a street in Monmouth, Connecticut where a cast of characters takes the stage to display the life of Link Williams and the events that lead to a tragedy in which “it were like a snowball and everybody gave it the last push.” The culmination of events that leads to the final climax in The Narrows give us “one-quarter of the explanation. The other three-quarters reaches back to that Dutch man of warre that landed in Jamestown in 1619.”
This was truly brilliant, there were so many details accompanying the settings, the houses, the characters but none of them were wasted. Petry pulled from each detail to tighten and make you confront what she’s trying to say here. It’s all connected and the story of the people that we have on display here matters, it all matters especially when we’re talking about class and race. The themes of race and class are inextricably bound, when you speak of one you speak of the other. When we try to act like it doesn’t then we run the risk of hurting people, because it is a privilege to run through life unafraid of consequences and assuming that race and class don’t matter.
The main story follows Link Williams and his love affair with Camilla Treadway Sheffield. She’s married, a millionaire, but she disguises all of this from Link when they first meet and as they carry on their love affair. This love affair will pull at the fabric of the Narrows and change the lives of its residents, “well, of course...if you’re a multon millionaire and white you don’t give a damn what the black peasants think.”
I can’t even begin to untangle everything that Petry does in this book. I had read the Street and it was brilliant but I feel with the Narrows she masterfully expands on the foundation she had built in her previous work. Through fiction she amplifies and brings characters to represent the injustices done against Black people, even in their own community, where acceptance in white spaces is conditional, and when the question of the Race has many sides, many ways of being taught and this can lead to confusion for a child. As if all of this wasn’t enough she also talks about women, about misogyny in Black communities, and the role of white women in a racist society. I strongly urge you to read it
I have seen the Narrows in history books, I have seen them spoken of in Stamped, Ghosts in the Schoolyard, 1919 and have seen the street talked about in the news, history books and known of the Narrows people think exist in Chicago. In 428 pages, Ann Petry potently displays social commentary against class and race set against the backdrop of the Narrows, a street in Monmouth, Connecticut where a cast of characters takes the stage to display the life of Link Williams and the events that lead to a tragedy in which “it were like a snowball and everybody gave it the last push.” The culmination of events that leads to the final climax in The Narrows give us “one-quarter of the explanation. The other three-quarters reaches back to that Dutch man of warre that landed in Jamestown in 1619.”
This was truly brilliant, there were so many details accompanying the settings, the houses, the characters but none of them were wasted. Petry pulled from each detail to tighten and make you confront what she’s trying to say here. It’s all connected and the story of the people that we have on display here matters, it all matters especially when we’re talking about class and race. The themes of race and class are inextricably bound, when you speak of one you speak of the other. When we try to act like it doesn’t then we run the risk of hurting people, because it is a privilege to run through life unafraid of consequences and assuming that race and class don’t matter.
The main story follows Link Williams and his love affair with Camilla Treadway Sheffield. She’s married, a millionaire, but she disguises all of this from Link when they first meet and as they carry on their love affair. This love affair will pull at the fabric of the Narrows and change the lives of its residents, “well, of course...if you’re a multon millionaire and white you don’t give a damn what the black peasants think.”
I can’t even begin to untangle everything that Petry does in this book. I had read the Street and it was brilliant but I feel with the Narrows she masterfully expands on the foundation she had built in her previous work. Through fiction she amplifies and brings characters to represent the injustices done against Black people, even in their own community, where acceptance in white spaces is conditional, and when the question of the Race has many sides, many ways of being taught and this can lead to confusion for a child. As if all of this wasn’t enough she also talks about women, about misogyny in Black communities, and the role of white women in a racist society. I strongly urge you to read it
August 6, 2017
I didn't actually find this book enjoyable or hard to put down until halfway through but I'm glad I finished it. The writing style grew on me (though there were still several length side plots and flashbacks I personally found unnecessary) the plot finally came to fruition. It didn't necessarily end in a redeeming way, but how the author handled race relations was very timely and relevant for today. I wouldn't be surprised if this book grows in popularity as it speaks to current issues and I saw a new edition is supposed to be coming out this summer.
50 Books, 50 States -- Connecticut
50 Books, 50 States -- Connecticut
April 30, 2019
Why don’t we know about this author?! Well, I know why we don’t - but we should. Her writing is amazing. This wasn’t an easy read, but I am glad I read it.
January 23, 2021
I enjoyed this book although I liked The Street by the same author (Ann Petry) better. Race relations are explored.
November 27, 2025
4.5
My mind is still boggling over the fact that I had never heard of Ann Petry before this year. And her novels are among the best I have read all year - first "The Street" and now "The Narrows." They feature crisp, unflinching writing; realistic, complicated characters; and page-turning plots that still have amazing depth and nuance. "The Narrows," published in 1953, feels so ahead of its time with its examination of an interracial relationship between a black man and a frivolous white heiress. I can only imagine that there was an outcry about indecency when it was published; that it must have sparked rumblings of racist outrage. Petry was a brave and uncompromising writer.
Description (from Goodreads):
I love the omniscient narration in Petry's books that gives the reader a peek into the minds of so many of the characters, main and minor. Link receives the most page time, but we also get to hear from his adopted mother/aunt Abbie Crunch, their tenants Malcolm and Mamie Powther, the local newspaper editor, and more. The perspective shifts sometimes happen quickly; additionally, the novel drifts back and forth between the modern timeline and flashbacks/memories, so reading this book does require careful attention and an openness to a fluid, experimental style.
Link's fraught relationship with Bill Hod was one of the most interesting parts of the book to me. Hod is often described as vicious, dangerous, and criminal, but his semi-adoption of the young Link, helping him overcome his self-hatred due to his race, is full of poignant tenderness. Even his violent reaction to teenage Link visiting a whorehouse ultimately seems to be founded in care and love. And of course Weak Knees is just the bee's knees. I loved the gentle, funny chef more and more each time he appeared on the page.
Abbie Crunch is also such a fascinating and complex character. She fails in many ways as an adoptive mother to Link; she focuses too much on superficial things; but she is still shown to be a compassionate woman who is doing her best, and I was really touched by her willingness, though initially reluctant, to take on some responsibility for J.C., an obnoxious, neglected child who desperately needs adult attention. J.C. seems like a second chance for Abbie.
Compared to these characters and their knotty relationships, the romance between Link and Camilo wasn't that interesting to me, other than how it impacted the plot and its ripple effect on the other characters. Camilo was not likable; I don't think she is supposed to be. Link deserved so much better from life, and he knew it. The ending is pure heartbreak.
I am not doing this book justice in this review. I can't stop thinking about or yammering on about the characters, who felt so real to me. But there is much more to the book than memorable characters, if I could just articulate it. Suffice it to say that "The Narrows" examines racism, class, power imbalances, family, and non-traditional parenthood in an extremely thought-provoking, highly-readable way. I was engrossed for every one of the 560 pages, and I feel like this is one of the few books I have read this year where I didn't wish it was a little tighter or more carefully edited. I hope Petry's work becomes better known again and that my praise is a small part of the revival.
My mind is still boggling over the fact that I had never heard of Ann Petry before this year. And her novels are among the best I have read all year - first "The Street" and now "The Narrows." They feature crisp, unflinching writing; realistic, complicated characters; and page-turning plots that still have amazing depth and nuance. "The Narrows," published in 1953, feels so ahead of its time with its examination of an interracial relationship between a black man and a frivolous white heiress. I can only imagine that there was an outcry about indecency when it was published; that it must have sparked rumblings of racist outrage. Petry was a brave and uncompromising writer.
Description (from Goodreads):
It’s Saturday, past midnight, and thick fog rolls in from the river like smoke. Link Williams is standing on the dock when he hears quick footsteps approaching, and the gasp of a woman too terrified to scream. After chasing off her pursuer, he takes the woman to a nearby bar to calm her nerves, and as they enter, it’s as if the oxygen has left the they, and the other patrons, see in the dim light that he’s Black and she’s white. Link is a brilliant Dartmouth graduate, former athlete and soldier who, because of the lack of opportunities available to him, tends bar; Camilo is a wealthy married woman dissatisfied with and bored of her life of privilege. Thrown together by a chance encounter, both Link and Camilo secretly cross the town’s racial divide, defying the social prejudices of their times. In this stunning and heartbreaking story, Petry illuminates the harsh realities of race and class through two doomed lovers.
I love the omniscient narration in Petry's books that gives the reader a peek into the minds of so many of the characters, main and minor. Link receives the most page time, but we also get to hear from his adopted mother/aunt Abbie Crunch, their tenants Malcolm and Mamie Powther, the local newspaper editor, and more. The perspective shifts sometimes happen quickly; additionally, the novel drifts back and forth between the modern timeline and flashbacks/memories, so reading this book does require careful attention and an openness to a fluid, experimental style.
Link's fraught relationship with Bill Hod was one of the most interesting parts of the book to me. Hod is often described as vicious, dangerous, and criminal, but his semi-adoption of the young Link, helping him overcome his self-hatred due to his race, is full of poignant tenderness. Even his violent reaction to teenage Link visiting a whorehouse ultimately seems to be founded in care and love. And of course Weak Knees is just the bee's knees. I loved the gentle, funny chef more and more each time he appeared on the page.
Abbie Crunch is also such a fascinating and complex character. She fails in many ways as an adoptive mother to Link; she focuses too much on superficial things; but she is still shown to be a compassionate woman who is doing her best, and I was really touched by her willingness, though initially reluctant, to take on some responsibility for J.C., an obnoxious, neglected child who desperately needs adult attention. J.C. seems like a second chance for Abbie.
Compared to these characters and their knotty relationships, the romance between Link and Camilo wasn't that interesting to me, other than how it impacted the plot and its ripple effect on the other characters. Camilo was not likable; I don't think she is supposed to be. Link deserved so much better from life, and he knew it. The ending is pure heartbreak.
I am not doing this book justice in this review. I can't stop thinking about or yammering on about the characters, who felt so real to me. But there is much more to the book than memorable characters, if I could just articulate it. Suffice it to say that "The Narrows" examines racism, class, power imbalances, family, and non-traditional parenthood in an extremely thought-provoking, highly-readable way. I was engrossed for every one of the 560 pages, and I feel like this is one of the few books I have read this year where I didn't wish it was a little tighter or more carefully edited. I hope Petry's work becomes better known again and that my praise is a small part of the revival.
September 1, 2025
A chance encounter on a dock late at night and Link Williams path interesects with Camilo Sheffeld. It's not until later in the evening, in a more well-lit place, that they realize he is Black and she's white. The neighborhood that Link lives in is called "The Narrows" and despite Link's status as a former soldier and an Ivy League graduate, there aren't many options available to him so he makes a living tending bar for the man that was a complicated father figure to him during his childhood. Link and Camilo start a relationship, one that is obviously doomed from the start -some for reasons you know early on, other reasons are more clear as the story unfolds. As Petry takes the reader on the journey from the first fateful night to the last, she explores the seeming inevitability of the outcome while depicting issues of race, class, and family. Petry could teach a masterclass in setting and crafting atmosphere as well as in creating characters so flawed and so relatable that they step off the page. #AnnPetryAugust
January 31, 2021
This book has everything you are looking for in a 5⭐️ read ... a flowing plot, well-developed characters (some you will love and some you will loathe, to say the least), and layers of social commentary on racism, colorism, sexism/gender roles, classism, and much more.
THE NARROWS is set in the 1950s and centers on the life of Link Williams, an intelligent and attractive young man who, after graduating from Dartmouth, returns to The Narrows where he grew up to work as a bartender. Late one night he saves a young woman named Camilo from being attacked but it isn’t until they venture into a bar together afterward that he realizes she is white and she realizes he is Black. Their friendship quickly grows into love, but can their relationship withstand societal judgment and pressures, as well as the secrets hidden between them?
I am 100% an Ann Petry fan now and will be ordering THE STREETS the next time I order some books. Her influence on writers who followed her is apparent and it’s sad her work is not more widely known and appreciated these days. Trust me, if this one isn’t on your TBR, it should be!!
THE NARROWS is set in the 1950s and centers on the life of Link Williams, an intelligent and attractive young man who, after graduating from Dartmouth, returns to The Narrows where he grew up to work as a bartender. Late one night he saves a young woman named Camilo from being attacked but it isn’t until they venture into a bar together afterward that he realizes she is white and she realizes he is Black. Their friendship quickly grows into love, but can their relationship withstand societal judgment and pressures, as well as the secrets hidden between them?
I am 100% an Ann Petry fan now and will be ordering THE STREETS the next time I order some books. Her influence on writers who followed her is apparent and it’s sad her work is not more widely known and appreciated these days. Trust me, if this one isn’t on your TBR, it should be!!
May 3, 2020
The Narrows reminds me of George Eliot’s Middlemarch, kicked up to 100 miles per hour. It’s the story of a place, Monmouth, Connecticut, aka The Narrows, and of about a dozen characters hurtling towards one another and their inevitable collisions. Petry has a unique and powerful writing style, her characters’ inner monologues spill out onto the page, running back over themselves again and again, the way the mind does as it splices together memory and the current moment. An incisive look at race in 1950’s America, I won’t soon forget this sharply drawn cast of characters, or the way this small-town epic story made me feel. Petry is an extraordinary writer, and this book is a masterpiece.
December 11, 2023
Well-written story about an ill-fated love affair between a black man and a white woman. Good characterization, good plot. Published back in 1953 and still perfectly readable. Recommended.
July 6, 2020
"I began to wonder if there were other things I hadn't known about, other things that weren't what they seemed to be. I stood staring up at those columns, trying to figure out what other things there were that were something else. It made me furious to find out that a thing could look like something else, not be the thing I had always believed it to be."
Reading Ann Petry's work is swimming underwater, listening to the echos beneath the surface & popping up to breathe: her writing is immersive. It transports, it captivates, it is expansive & all-encompassing.
The Narrows is set in Monmouth, Connecticut during the 1950s. The narrative, although centered on Link Williams & his growth from childhood, weaves in multiple people's points of view within the community, creating a fabric of differing experiences along issues of class, race & gender. The novel follows Link Williams' relationship with a married white woman, Camilo Sheffield -- on race relations, culminating in an event that reveals the historically sinister nature of white women in "interracial relationships" with Black men. Petry doesn't write about race & anti-Blackness in an obvious, self-proclaiming way, but in a psychologically haunting manner lingering among each sentence, within each conversation & coloring each landscape.
Petry crafts her setting as a character. Dumble Street breathes, the trees carry memories of people who have sat beneath them, the environment is all knowing, before the characters themselves know. Within Petry's works she includes masterfully-written, disturbing inner dialogue & thoughts left unspoken, showcasing her artistry as a writer & intimate connections between the places & people she writes of. Read all of Ann Petry's works, forever.
Reading Ann Petry's work is swimming underwater, listening to the echos beneath the surface & popping up to breathe: her writing is immersive. It transports, it captivates, it is expansive & all-encompassing.
The Narrows is set in Monmouth, Connecticut during the 1950s. The narrative, although centered on Link Williams & his growth from childhood, weaves in multiple people's points of view within the community, creating a fabric of differing experiences along issues of class, race & gender. The novel follows Link Williams' relationship with a married white woman, Camilo Sheffield -- on race relations, culminating in an event that reveals the historically sinister nature of white women in "interracial relationships" with Black men. Petry doesn't write about race & anti-Blackness in an obvious, self-proclaiming way, but in a psychologically haunting manner lingering among each sentence, within each conversation & coloring each landscape.
Petry crafts her setting as a character. Dumble Street breathes, the trees carry memories of people who have sat beneath them, the environment is all knowing, before the characters themselves know. Within Petry's works she includes masterfully-written, disturbing inner dialogue & thoughts left unspoken, showcasing her artistry as a writer & intimate connections between the places & people she writes of. Read all of Ann Petry's works, forever.
May 9, 2019
Ann Petry's second novel, reissued recently in one volume with her first, The Street. The Street was a powerful, concise look at the life of a young woman trying to raise her young boy in 1940s Harlem. The Narrows deals with star-crossed interracial lovers. An impossibly perfect young black man becomes involved with an equally impossibly perfect (and rich) young white woman. The man resents her privilege, and she has no way to shed it. Who can be surprised that they will clash? The problem is that it all takes so many pages to unwind to its melodramatic end. Ms. Petry is trying to paint a realistic picture of black life in a prejudiced world, and does a good job of creating an entertaining supporting cast, albeit a stereotypical one. One becomes annoyed with the obtuseness of the characters as they refuse to learn from their mistakes. If you're reading only one, pick The Street.
July 6, 2019
This was a very interesting read. First of all, the edition that I read had a foreword by Nellie McKay which contained a huge spoiler. It was worthwhile but I would read it as an afterword.
The book was set in a medium sized city in Connecticut in 1953. It was about race relations as well as class relations. The center of the story was an interacial romance between a black man and a very wealthy white woman. Both characters were portrayed sympathetically. However, the minor characters on the periphery were far more interesting than the two lovers.
The authors writing style is endlessly descriptive and the book can be a bit challenging with the many flashbacks and stream of consciousness dialogues. However, the book builds suspense.
I must say that I thought it was more interesting than her more celebrated book “The Street”.
The book was set in a medium sized city in Connecticut in 1953. It was about race relations as well as class relations. The center of the story was an interacial romance between a black man and a very wealthy white woman. Both characters were portrayed sympathetically. However, the minor characters on the periphery were far more interesting than the two lovers.
The authors writing style is endlessly descriptive and the book can be a bit challenging with the many flashbacks and stream of consciousness dialogues. However, the book builds suspense.
I must say that I thought it was more interesting than her more celebrated book “The Street”.
August 6, 2009
Beautiful use of language and (sometimes non-use) of color. Multiple points of view are followed in this story, and as a writer it's fun to try and figure out why Petry made the choices she did on who to follow when. If you're interested in stories where characters make poor choices and what the consequences are, read this. Read this book anyways and research Ann Petry. She has an interesting history herself.
January 19, 2018
This book is enormous and complex in just about every direction. There are many, many angles you can look at it from, and each one is rewarding. I never heard of Ann Petry in school (finished high school in 1990) and wow, I really would have liked to have discussed her work in a classroom.
October 7, 2019
Her characters are striking and memorable and her writing fresh on the page as if written yesterday. These are issues that are haunting our society and seem to have made their way to the forefront of national conversation. Ann Petry was of and ahead of her time.
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