Howard Street

by Nathan C. Heard

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Fiction, Noir, Novels

246 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1970

About the author

Born in 1946, Nathan Heard grew up in New Jersey. As a young man he was convicted of armed robbery and sent to Trenton State Penitentiary, where he wrote his first and most famous novel, Howard Street (1968).
After coming out of prison, Heard became a teacher. He has taught creative writing at Fresno State College and black literature at Rutgers University. He still lives in Newark and continues to write fiction, but the intensity of his debut remains unmatched.

Reviews

[Mateo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I opened this book while in line at the post office, and by page 2 I was so immersed in the vivid world created within that I had no idea what the woman was talking about when she said, "Are your packages local or out of state?" I didn't say anything for a good few breaths, and after I sent off the stuff I fell right back into the seemly world of dope-fiend pimps and good girls turned out, the hard working and hard playing people of the 1960's Newark ghetto. This book was Heard's first novel, written within Trenton State pen, and captures the psychological depth and dramatic tension of Shakespeare. Really. For me, it's a perfect counterpart and reality check to that other caricaturist of the cultural excesses and contradictions of mid-century Newark, Philip Roth.

[Beer Bolwijn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh boy, I had a dynamite blast reading this! Howard Street is not a place I would ever like to visit, but to read about it is to indulge in the workings of a strange society where all behaviour is geared towards reputation. I was reminded of the many non-cool people in Amsterdam riding Vespa scooters and wearing Canada Goose jackets.

Underneath the rough life - mostly in dark times of the day - that is much of the stage, there are wonderful characters speeching about the condition of the people that populate Howard Street. The disillusioned one-year college student-basketballer Jackie who lets down his most ardent admirer Jimmie gives many answers, but not enough. Then there's Hip, who just wants to be left alone and not hurt anybody (except the girls he's pimping), spouting his radical nihilism of junk-sensation.

The tales of the grimy streets are original and classic, but the deeper intellectual discussions shining through on occasion lift this book to the 5 star joy-to-read shelf.

Read in December 2022 in Amsterdam, mostly at my place in my comfy chair and in bed next to my lovely fiancee.

[Dunori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just in case anyone notices, I only read this edition of the book. I accidentally selected another edition of it first when marking it as my current read and there doesn't seem to be a way to make the correction (if there is, someone please let me know).
Having said that, 4.5 round down is my rating. How it started reminded me of the formula I only recently noticed that is used by many films of having an action/suspense-packed opening scene to hook the audience's interest. It was the opening chapter in the case of the book and worked, although not sure how necessary it was because the rest of the book was quite engaging and also had quite a suspenseful ending. I would definitely recommend it to people who are fans of writing on this subject matter especially with multiple editions of it published perhaps indicating how good it is.

[Jeff Sorensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the shit. There's nothing phony in here. Leaves you feeling completely worn out from the inside back out.

[Caramel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howard Street is an excellent read. You will not be disappointed. Each chapter draws the reader in and you become one of the characters on Howard Street.

[Ronald Overby · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a fantastic easy read. i am from Newark New Jersey and it was amazing to hear all of the streets that i walked on as a teenager. i loved this book it had me from the beginning.
i would recommend this book to anyone!!

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great novel. The ending is not up to the rest of the book though

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot damn! I hadn't heard of this book until a week ago but I'm happy it came into my life. I was hooked from the first page, and it just kept getting better

[Nathan Heard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Critical americana

[Jerry Muzsik · Rating 5 out of 5]

The lingo and slang is so spot on in this book, nothing like it, probably never will be.