1963. Extremely graphic violence of the domestic variety marred this little gem of a book for me. It is a day in the life of Jake Jackson, a post office mail sorter. He gets up and beats his wife, plays bridge with his friends, works with his friends from 12-8 or so. Then they go out and party and he gets falling down drunk and beats his wife again. It's gritty realism at its finest. It considers the plight of the black man in America on every page. It expresses rage at the plight of the black man, but I couldn't help feeling like it wasn't doing him any favors in some regards. This being Richard Wright, I'm sure this has been discussed to death, but I'm putting my thoughts down before I go and read the reviews it received. ( )

This novel gives a well done description of one day in the life of a black working man in depression era Chicago.

LAWD TODAY: A brilliant, high-spirited, scarring novel by Richard Wright. "So glad to have always been a reader and never a ghetto-breeder. Whoa! The TRUTH has neither friends nor family: Happy to be who I am and the WAY I am for once. What a miserable life we have awaiting us if not for our combined circumspection: Never allow this work to prey upon the collective-unconsciousness of the Negro race ever again: Pussy is more trouble than it's worth in the long run."