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A Father's Law
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A Father's Law Paperback - 2008

by Richard Wright

Wrights daughter, Julia, explains that this novel, written shortly before her fathers death, explores many themes . . . like guilt, the difficult relationship between the generations, [and] the difficulty of being a black police officer and father . . . [and is] astonishingly modern for a novel written in 1960.


From the publisher

"An intense, provocative, and vital crime story that excavates paradoxical dimensions of race, class, sexism, family bonds, and social obligation while seeking the deepest meaning of the law." -- Booklist

Originally published posthumously by his daughter and literary executor Julia Wright, A Father's Law is the novel Richard Wright, acclaimed author of Black Boy and Native Son, never completed. Written during a six-week period prior to his death in Paris in 1960, it offers a fascinating glimpse into the writer's process as well as providing an important addition to Wright's body of work.

In rough form, Wright expands the style of a crime thriller to grapple with themes of race, class, and generational conflicts as newly appointed police chief Ruddy Turner begins to suspect his own son, Tommy, a student at the University of Chicago, of a series of murders in Brentwood Park. Under pressure to solve the killings and prove himself, Turner spirals into an obsession that forces him to confront his ambivalent relationship with a son he struggles to understand.

Prescient, raw, and powerful, A Father's Law is the final gift from a literary giant.

From the rear cover

Never before published, the final work of one of America's greatest writers

A Father's Law is the novel Richard Wright, acclaimed author of Black Boy and Native Son, never completed. Written during a six-week period near the end of his life, it appears in print for the first time, an important addition to this American master's body of work, submitted by his daughter and literary executor, Julia, who writes:

It comes from his guts and ends at the hero's "breaking point." It explores many themes favored by my father like guilt and innocence, the difficult relationship between the generations, the difficulty of being a black policeman and father, the difficulty of being both those things and suspecting that your own son is the murderer. It intertwines astonishingly modern themes for a novel written in 1960.

Prescient, raw, powerful, and fascinating, A Father's Law is the final gift from a literary giant.

Details

  • Title A Father's Law
  • Author Richard Wright
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 320
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Harper Perennial, New York, New York, U.S.A.
  • Date 2008-01-08
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Illustrated
  • ISBN 9780061349164 / 006134916X
  • Weight 0.56 lbs (0.25 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.98 x 5.52 x 0.85 in (20.27 x 14.02 x 2.16 cm)
  • Themes
    • Ethnic Orientation: African American
    • Topical: Family
  • Library of Congress subjects Psychological fiction, Suspense fiction
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2007050879
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

Citations

  • Booklist, 12/01/2007, Page 4
  • Chronicle of Higher Education, 07/25/2008, Page 12
  • Ebony, 06/01/2008, Page 58
  • Library Journal, 01/15/2008, Page 91
  • New York Times Book Review, 02/24/2008, Page 14
  • Publishers Weekly, 11/19/2007, Page 35
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A Father's Law
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A Father's Law

by Wright, Richard

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A Father's Law
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A Father's Law

by Wright, Richard

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