Native Son, by Richard Wright

Native Son, by Richard Wright, was hailed by reviewers as an instant classic upon its release in 1940. The novel was an instant bestseller, having been included in the book-of-the-month-club. Due to its proto revolutionary themes it was the subject of many reviews. Two such reviewers are Clifton Fadiman and Malcolm Cowley.         Clifton Fadiman, writer for The New Yorker declared that Native Son was the most powerful American novel since the Grapes of Wrath. He is …

…the novel. Having been compared to Grapes of Wrath and An American Tragedy , it is evident that Native Son is a great work of literature. The main point that the reviewers made was that Wright really had a great idea for a story and presented it extremely well. He was not too personal in his writings, yet he gave us, the readers a novel which we could apply personal experiences to and enjoy as well.