The Man Who Lived Underground
(OverDrive MP3 Audiobook, OverDrive Listen)
New York Times Bestseller
Read by actor Ethan Herisse
From the legendary author of Native Son and Black Boy, the novel he was unable to publish during his lifetime—an explosive story of racism, injustice, brutality, and survival. ""Not just Wright's masterwork, but also a milestone in African American literature . . . One of those indispensable works that reminds all its readers that, whether we are in the flow of life or somehow separated from it, above- or belowground, we are all human."" (Gene Seymour, CNN.com)
"The Man Who Lived Underground reminds us that any 'greatest writers of the 20th century' list that doesn't start and end with Richard Wright is laughable. It might very well be Wright's most brilliantly crafted, and ominously foretelling, book."—Kiese Laymon
Fred Daniels, a Black man, is picked up by the police after a brutal double murder and tortured until he confesses to a crime he did not commit. After signing a confession, he escapes from custody and flees into the city's sewer system.
This is the devastating premise of Richard Wright's scorching novel, The Man Who Lived Underground, written between his landmark books Native Son (1940) and Black Boy (1945), at the height of his creative powers. Now, for the first time, by special arrangement between the Library of America and the author's estate, the full text of the work that meant more to Wright than any other ("I have never written anything in my life that stemmed more from sheer inspiration") is published in the form that he intended, complete with his companion essay, "Memories of My Grandmother." Malcolm Wright, the author's grandson, contributes an afterword.
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Richard Wright. (2021). The Man Who Lived Underground. Unabridged Caedmon.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Richard Wright. 2021. The Man Who Lived Underground. Caedmon.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Richard Wright, The Man Who Lived Underground. Caedmon, 2021.
MLA Citation (style guide)Richard Wright. The Man Who Lived Underground. Unabridged Caedmon, 2021.
| Library | Owned | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Digital Collection | 4 | 4 |
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New York Times Bestseller
- One of the Best Books of the Year by Time magazine, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, and Esquire, and one of Oprah's 15 Favorite Books of the Year
Read by actor Ethan Herisse
From the legendary author of Native Son and Black Boy, the novel he was unable to publish during his lifetime—an explosive story of racism, injustice, brutality, and survival. ""Not just Wright's masterwork, but also a milestone in African American literature . . . One of those indispensable works that reminds all its readers that, whether we are in the flow of life or somehow separated from it, above- or belowground, we are all human."" (Gene Seymour, CNN.com)
"The Man Who Lived Underground reminds us that any 'greatest writers of the 20th century' list that doesn't start and end with Richard Wright is laughable. It might very well be Wright's most brilliantly crafted, and ominously foretelling, book."—Kiese Laymon
Fred Daniels, a Black man, is picked up by the police after a brutal double murder and tortured until he confesses to a crime he did not commit. After signing a confession, he escapes from custody and flees into the city's sewer system.
This is the devastating premise of Richard Wright's scorching novel, The Man Who Lived Underground, written between his landmark books Native Son (1940) and Black Boy (1945), at the height of his creative powers. Now, for the first time, by special arrangement between the Library of America and the author's estate, the full text of the work that meant more to Wright than any other ("I have never written anything in my life that stemmed more from sheer inspiration") is published in the form that he intended, complete with his companion essay, "Memories of My Grandmother." Malcolm Wright, the author's grandson, contributes an afterword.
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- content: Narrator Ethan Herisse gives a subtle heartbreaking performance in this previously unpublished novel by Richard Wright. Fred Daniels is returning home from work to his pregnant wife when he is accosted by police and tortured into a false confession. Escaping into the sewer, Daniels wanders underground in an allegorical fever dream that mirrors the state of midcentury Black America. Since the story is largely internal and surreal, Herisse gives Daniels an understated tone as he struggles to comprehend his circumstances and actions while living in the sewer. This allows the scenes in which Daniels encounters others, especially the police, to crackle with terror and confusion. Herisse returns to steady assuredness in the accompanying essay, "Memories of My Grandmother," and the afterword by Malcolm Wright, Richard's grandson. N.M. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
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New York Times Bestseller
- One of the Best Books of the Year by Time magazine, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, and Esquire, and one of Oprah's 15 Favorite Books of the Year
Read by actor Ethan Herisse
From the legendary author of Native Son and Black Boy, the novel he was unable to publish during his lifetime—an explosive story of racism, injustice, brutality, and survival. ""Not just Wright's masterwork, but also a milestone in African American literature . . . One of those indispensable works that reminds all its readers that, whether we are in the flow of life or somehow separated from it, above- or belowground, we are all human."" (Gene Seymour, CNN.com)
"The Man Who Lived Underground reminds us that any 'greatest writers of the 20th century' list that doesn't start and end with Richard Wright is laughable. It might very well be Wright's most brilliantly crafted, and...
- One of the Best Books of the Year by Time magazine, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, and Esquire, and one of Oprah's 15 Favorite Books of the Year
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