Customer Reviews

Eight Men

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Richard Wright is well known as the author of classic American books like "Native Son", but this was my first sample of his short story work. Eight Men is a collection of short stories about Black men in very different and unusual situations, but all of the stories involve their struggles in life.

"The Man Who Lived Underground" was the story that struck me the most. The elements of this story took a considerable amount of time to analyze back when I was a freshman in college. It is the story of Fred Daniels, a black man, wrongly accused of murder, who escapes to the sewer and there realizes the harsh realities of his existence. More happens in that sewer than you probably imagine. It is the longest of all of the stories.

"The Man of All Work" is the story that had the most humor in it. "Eight Men" is a collection of fairly sad stories that detail the oppressive conditions of Black men in the 1930's, and this short story joined with "The Big Black Good Man" as the only ones with noticeable humor to them. The resourcefulness of a Black man in a town where there were no jobs for Black men is the basis of this story.

Our book club found "Eight Men" to be very interesting on a number of levels. The discussion was lively, and everyone had contributions. The meeting ran past the scheduled time, and that is the highest praise that we can give to a book.

Though this does not contain Mr. Wright's best short story, "Bright and Morning Star", it does reveal his brilliance in telling a tale and connecting to the Black experience. From his use of the vernacular to his adept reaching of the Black man's perception of the white worlds attitude's toward him, Mr. Wright's work brings a certain comfort in knowing that some one else has gone through what the reader has.

Been looking or a story in this book since 1987, didn't know this book existed until not, perfect. The story is "the man who live under ground."

I really enjoyed all the readings in the book. All of the readings were captivating. This book displayed the expertise that Wright displays in all his works.