{"title":"Richard Wright","description":"\u003cp\u003eRichard Wright’s works delve deep into the complexities of identity, society, and the human condition. Known for powerful narratives like \u003cem\u003eBlack Boy\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eNative Son\u003c\/em\u003e, his writing captures the challenges faced by African Americans in early 20th-century America with unflinching honesty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect a blend of compelling fiction and insightful memoir, exploring themes of struggle, resilience, and self-discovery. Wright’s literary voice remains vital for anyone interested in social history and personal transformation.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"native-son-by-richard-wright-9781784876128","title":"Native Son","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDiscover Richard Wright's brutal and gripping masterpiece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBigger Thomas has grown up in Chicago's slums, reckless, angry and adrift. A respectable job with the affluent Dalton family provides hope but sets him on course for a catastrophic collision between his world and theirs. Hunted by citizen and police alike, and baited by prejudiced officials, Bigger finds himself the \u003cem\u003ecause célèbre\u003c\/em\u003e in an ever-narrowing endgame.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFirst published in 1940, \u003cem\u003eNative Son\u003c\/em\u003e shocked readers with its candid depiction of violence and confrontation of racial stereotypes. It went on to make Richard Wright the first bestselling black writer in America.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'In addition to being a masterpiece, a Great American Novel'\u003c\/em\u003e — Guardian\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'The most important and celebrated novel of Negro life to have appeared in America'\u003c\/em\u003e — James Baldwin\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWITH AN AFTERWORD BY GARY YOUNGE\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47551457198316,"sku":"9781784876128","price":29.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781784876128-native-son.jpg?v=1776824948"},{"product_id":"black-boy-by-richard-wright-9780062964137","title":"Black Boy","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Superb... A great American writer speaks with his own voice about matters that still resonate at the centre of our lives.\" — \u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA striking new edition of Richard Wright's powerful and unforgettable memoir, with a foreword by John Edgar Wideman and an afterword by Malcolm Wright, the author's grandson.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen it exploded onto the literary scene in 1945, \u003cem\u003eBlack Boy\u003c\/em\u003e was both praised and condemned. Orville Prescott of the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e wrote that \"if enough such books are written, if enough millions of people read them maybe, someday, in the fullness of time, there will be a greater understanding and a more true democracy.\" Yet from 1975 to 1978, \u003cem\u003eBlack Boy\u003c\/em\u003e was banned in schools throughout the United States for \"obscenity\" and \"instigating hatred between the races.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWright's once controversial, now celebrated autobiography measures the raw brutality of the Jim Crow South against the sheer desperate will it took to survive as a black boy. Enduring poverty, hunger, fear, abuse, and hatred while growing up in the woods of Mississippi, Wright lied, stole, and raged at those around him — whites indifferent, pitying, or cruel and blacks resentful of anyone trying to rise above their circumstances. Desperate for a different way of life, he made his way north, eventually arriving in Chicago, where he forged a new path and began his career as a writer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt the end of \u003cem\u003eBlack Boy\u003c\/em\u003e, Wright sits poised with pencil in hand, determined to \"hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo.\" More than seventy-five years later, his words continue to reverberate. \"To read \u003cem\u003eBlack Boy\u003c\/em\u003e is to stare into the heart of darkness,\" John Edgar Wideman writes in his foreword. \"Not the dark heart Conrad searched for in Congo jungles but the beating heart I bear.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the great American memoirs, Wright's account is a poignant record of struggle and endurance — a seminal literary work that illuminates our own time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47647898304748,"sku":"9780062964137","price":50.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780062964137-black-boy.jpg?v=1779243490"},{"product_id":"black-boy-by-richard-wright-9780063458345","title":"Black Boy","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“Superb. . . . A great American writer speaks with his own voice about matters that still resonate at the centre of our lives.”—\u003cem\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCelebrating its eightieth anniversary, Richard Wright's eloquent autobiography about growing up in the Jim Crow South gives a unique voice to being Southern, black, and male in early 20th-century America—now available as a special Harper Perennial Olive Edition.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhen \u003cem\u003eBlack Boy\u003c\/em\u003e exploded onto the literary scene in 1945, it was both praised and condemned. Orville Prescott of the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e wrote that \"if enough such books are written, if enough millions of people read them maybe, someday, in the fullness of time, there will be a greater understanding and a more true democracy.\" Yet from 1975 to 1978, \u003cem\u003eBlack Boy\u003c\/em\u003e was banned in schools throughout the United States for \"obscenity\" and \"instigating hatred between the races,\" and continues to remain controversial, coming under the scrutiny of censors today who are banning an alarming number of books.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWright's celebrated autobiography measures the raw brutality of the Jim Crow South against the sheer desperate will it took to survive it while Black. Enduring poverty, hunger, fear, abuse, and hatred while growing up in the woods of Mississippi, Wright lied, stole, and raged at those around him—whites indifferent, pitying, or cruel and blacks resentful of anyone trying to rise above their circumstances. Desperate for a different way of life, he made his way north, eventually arriving in Chicago, where he forged a new path and began his career as a writer. At the end of \u003cem\u003eBlack Boy\u003c\/em\u003e, Wright sits poised with pencil in hand, determined to \"hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo.\" Eighty years later, his words continue to reverberate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the great American memoirs, Wright's account is a poignant record of struggle and endurance—a pioneering literary work that still illuminates our own time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHarper Perennial Olive Editions are exclusive small-format editions of some of our bestselling and celebrated titles, and feature unique hand-drawn cover illustrations.\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eAll Olive Editions are available for a limited time only.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47647898370284,"sku":"9780063458345","price":39.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780063458345-black-boy.jpg?v=1779243500"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/richard-wright.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}