With resonant artistry and unflagging directness, Wideman examines the tragedy of race and the gulf it cleaves between black fathers and black sons. He does so chiefly through the lens of his own relations with his remote father, producing a memoir that belongs alongside the classics of Richard Wright and Malcolm X.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This NBA finalist mixes memories of acclaimed novelist Wideman's relationship with his own father with broader musings on the subjects of race and fatherhood.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Novelist Wideman, a two-time Pen/Faulkner award winner, presents a searing rumination on fathers, race, family traditions, and the passage of time. Examining his relationship with his own father, Wideman considers how the estrangement of black men from their families has affected generations of sons.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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More About the Author
JOHN EDGAR WIDEMAN is the author of more than twenty works of fiction and nonfiction, including the award-winning Brothers and Keepers, Philadelphia Fire, and most recently the story collection God's Gym. He is the recipient of two PEN/ Faulkner Awards and has been nominated for the National Book Award. He teaches at Brown University.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A poetic, thoughtful, confrontational and heartfelt book,
By A Customer
This review is from: Fatheralong: A Meditation on Fathers and Sons, Race and Society (Paperback)
I am astounded by how many of the present reviews here state that this book dwells too long on race. They seem to miss the point. It is all about race and how that is interpreted within American society. Race as it relates to power, power of white over black. Its history continues to have huge resonance within the society to this day. Fatheralong dwells on the impact of racism felt within the fabric of African American families - particularly focusing on how it translates from father to son. A subject that is not happy or pretty, but is conveyed in a poetic, thoughtful, confrontational and heartfelt way. Nothing will change unless people grapple with the enormous fallout of racism. This book is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the dynamics of racism.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read this book,
By A Customer
This review is from: Fatheralong: A Meditation on Fathers and Sons, Race and Society (Paperback)
Being a South African i see the effects that the ideology of race has had every day. Yet Fatheralong took my breath away and left me feeling very sad and ashamed but not without hope for the future. Widemans' use of prose is both eloquent and angry, which is also reflected in the structure of the novel. Short bursts of anger are alternated with more lengthy contemplative passages. The flow in prose (and the lack of distinction between him and his father) creates the impression that now, once Wideman is a father himself, he and his father have become one. The seperation that once existed is now erased and the bond between father and son can be mended. But race is not the only issue that gets tackled here. Like Susan Faludi, Wideman is also talking about a generation of men who had fathers who weren't so much absent as silent.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This book makes you look deep down in yourself.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Fatheralong: A Meditation on Fathers and Sons, Race and Society (Paperback)
When you look past the curse words, and incomplete sentences this book makes a little since. Wideman's book makes you look deep down into your soul, and makes you discover that you are a little raciest. The book also reinforces how important a strong family unit can be in the development of a person. In this time, when people are searching for the causes of why our society has so many problems this book brings answers. 412587
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