Customer Reviews

Quicksand (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Quicksand is an epic story of a tragic heroine written with taste and a great deal of wit. I can't help but wonder how the works of Nella Larsen are so criminally ignored by those interested in the study of African-American literature and the Harlem Renaissance (most texts make a brief footnote, failing to acknowledge the incredible value of this novel and its companion, the erotic and controversial Passing).
The novel follows the ups and downs of Helga Crane, a young woman doomed by her own intelligence and beauty. She is intellectually above those who are supposedly paving the way to success and equality for the black race. She sees a great deal of false pretense and [economic] selfishness in many of the people that she encounters throughout her journey, which is no more than a quest for independence and the possibility of happiness.
Her racial background (mixed, "brought up" by a hateful white stepfather and an ailing mother) defines the way in which she sees the world. She learns to manipulate colour and sex to her own advantage, only to discover in the end that she failed at understanding her real mission in this world. Her rebellious, never content character leads her to a nervous breakdown and the making of a terrible decision that defines her fate. At this point, in the midst of everything that she disliked in life (dirt, pregnancy, ignorance, rural life, religion) she realises that all of her existence she had been walking upon quicksand (her own soul being made of it), and that all she can do now is finally stop fighting; letting herself drown; escaping the struggle.
Larsen's way of ending her novels has been often criticised as rather abrupt and unexpected (Passing ending with the sudden death of its protagonist). I tend to disagree with those who dislike the way in which Quicksand closes. The author has presented a heroine whose life has been marked by struggle, fighting with fate, with herself, with her own race and sexuality. By placing Helga in such deplorable conditions (as her life seemed to reach some balance), Larsen makes a clear criticism of the position of women (as well as a commentary on race, religion, economic exploitation, and other topics) in a world that could not forgive intelligence or bravery in such a gender.
Quicksand touches upon so many subjects in such a sharp manner that it may take more than one read to discover the hidden layers within the novel. If any novel about race has come close to perfection this has to be the one, Passing being a close competitor for that feat. Hopefully one day they will receive the recognition that they deserve.

Nella Larsen does an exemplary job of devling into the human psyche with Passing. Unlike the color-struck works of Dorothy West this Harlem Renaissance author brings all of the pain of duality of multi-cultural people to the reader. Helga Crane lives between the two worlds of white and black and expresses the same anguish that many middle class blacks feel today. She is not the "tragic mulatto" as many critic paint her. This book should be read by anyone with an interest in the politics of race.

Nella Larsen's "Quicksand" is a sleeper masterpiece. She artfully weaves a tale of coming of age & unrequited love. The characters are real, and the conclusion is open to several different interpretations.

"Quicksand" masterfully addresses the racial issues faced by a post-Civil War, post-Reconstructionist America (the complexities and the hypocrisies) while telling the story of a young, intelligent, attractive woman growing up in a society where not only is her ethnicity an issue, but her gender is as well.
Helga is a teacher at a "progressive" school in the South, an institution that aims to educate and enlighten poor, uneducated blacks in an attempt to right the wrongs of slavery. In doing so, however, the school attempts to stifle the natural instincts and characteristics of the african-american students and the end result is an essential white-washing of their vitality. Repulsed by this, Helga quits her job and moves north, only to discover that as a single black female, she either does not have enough work experience or is too educated to land a job. She eventually falls in with a progressive crowd who believe that blacks should have nothing to do with whites at all, a viewpoint she also finds ridiculous. The mixed child of a white mother and african father, Helga moves to Denmark to be with her mom's sister, only to discover that while she is treated as a princess being the lone minority in an all white Copenhagen, being alone, apart from her people no matter how well she is treated, does not make her happy.
As Helga lives throughout the book, she is continually struggling with her own views on race, fighting her immediate surroundings but always being pulled further down, as if caught in quicksand. It is only when she has a drastic vision one night at church that she believes she has found the answer to her problems, only to find her happiness shortlived and realizing that black or white, she still has to face the world as a woman, which presents a whole other slew of problems.
The problems Larsen addresses are complex and multifaceted and much to her credit, she provides no solutions. Instead, she paints a stirring portrait of a single human trying to navigate the treacherous waters of a racially and sexually confused nation.

Nella Larsen's book "Quicksand" gives an interesting perspective on the black experience in the early 20th Century.
Larsen reveals what is seldom heard about young black intellectuals frustration with black's progress at that time in gaining societal equality in America.
The writing style is not exceptional but the book's message is.