{"product_id":"the-man-who-lived-underground-a-novel-isbn-9780062971487","title":"The Man Who Lived Underground: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Bestseller \u003c\/b\u003e• \u003cb\u003eOne of the Best Books of the Year: \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e magazine, \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe,\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eEsquire \u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e•\u003cb\u003e One of Oprah’s 15 Favorite Books of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the legendary author of \u003ci\u003eNative Son\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBlack Boy,\u003c\/i\u003e 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)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e“\u003ci\u003eThe Man Who Lived Underground \u003c\/i\u003ereminds 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\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFred 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 false confession, he escapes from custody and flees into the city’s sewer system.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the devastating premise of Richard Wright's scorching work of social commentary, \u003ci\u003eThe Man Who Lived Underground,\u003c\/i\u003e written between his landmark books \u003ci\u003eNative Son\u003c\/i\u003e (1940) and \u003ci\u003eBlack Boy\u003c\/i\u003e (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.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e\"The power and pain of Wright’s writing are evident in this wrenching novel. . . . Wright makes the impact of racist policing palpable as the story builds to a gut-punch ending, and the inclusion of his essay “Memories of My Grandmother” illuminates his inspiration for the book. This nightmarish tale of racist terror resonates.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Finally, this devastating inquiry into oppression and delusion, this timeless tour de force, emerges in full, the work Wright was most passionate about, as he explains in the profoundly illuminating essay, 'Memories of My Grandmother,' also published here for the first time. This blazing literary meteor should land in every collection.\"  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A welcome literary resurrection that deserves a place alongside Wright’s best-known work.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eThe Man Who Lived Underground\u003c\/em\u003e reminds us that any ‘greatest writers of the 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e 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.”  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKiese Laymon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“The Man Who Lived Underground \u003c\/em\u003eis a masterpiece.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTime Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Not just Wright's masterwork, but also a milestone in African American literature . . . \u003cem\u003eThe Man Who Lived Underground\u003c\/em\u003e is 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.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGene Seymour, CNN.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"It's impossible to read Wright’s novel without thinking of this 21st-century moment. . . . Wright deserves sensitive reconsideration, especially now that so many of us have been proved naive in our belief that an honest rendering of Black people might lead to recognition of our existence in the universality of humanity.\"  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eImani Perry, The Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Moves continuously forward with its masterful blend of action and reflection, a kind of philosophy on the run. . . . Whether or not \u003cem\u003eThe Man Who Lived Underground\u003c\/em\u003e is Wright’s single finest work, it must be counted among his most significant.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eClifford Thompson, Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Enthralling. . . . You could say that the book’s release now is timely, given that it contains an account of police torture. . . .  But that feels false because Wright’s story would have been just as relevant if it had been released 10 years ago or 30, 50, or 80—when he composed it. . . . Maybe, then, it’s more accurate to think of \u003cem\u003eThe Man Who Lived Underground\u003c\/em\u003e as timeless rather than timely.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew Republic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"This is a significant work of literary fiction from a legendary author that’s absolutely not to be missed.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBook Riot\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Nothing less than the reestablishing of a major legacy.\"  - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Chicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Like a telegram from mid-century America warning us about our very present, Richard Wright’s novel arrived with the shock of recognition for readers in the midst of a reckoning with racial injustice.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTime Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Propulsive, haunting. . . . The graphic, gripping book ends with a revealing companion essay that further explains the themes of this searing novel.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOprah Daily\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Never did Wright approach race more directly than in \u003cem\u003eThe Man Who Lived Underground\u003c\/em\u003e.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"To read \u003cem\u003eThe Man Who Lived Underground\u003c\/em\u003e today . . .  is to recognize an author who knew his work could be shelved for decades without depreciation. Because this is America. Because police misconduct, to use the genteel 2021 term, is ageless.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"A tale for today. . . . [Wright's] restored novel feels wearily descriptive of far too many moments in contemporary America.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial Modern Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44890310934757,"sku":"NP9780062971487","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780062971487.jpg?v=1730233007","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-man-who-lived-underground-a-novel-isbn-9780062971487","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}