Review: The Street by Ann Petry And Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton
Ann Petry The Street is a novel written by Ann Petry in 1946. When first published the book was widely read and sold a million copies. It is an American classic that tells the story of Lutie Johnson, a loner, a mother, and thoughtful African American woman reaching for the American dream from a poverty stricken Harlem neighborhood. Chapter one describes 116th in Harlem, as cold, discouraging, and strewn with garbage. (1-2) Some readers might ask why Lutie chooses to live in such a desolate and gloomy place. Lutie and her son Bub move to escape the negative influence of her alcoholic father and his drunken girlfriend after being forced to move in with them following the breakup of her marriage. Unfortunately, she cannot afford to live anywhere else. Her income from her job as a file clerk is barely enough to cover her rent and other bills and so it is Lutie verses the street. The omniscient narrator allows the reader to see how Lutie’s life came to be through her many, m...