Quicksand (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) (Paperback)

by Nella Larsen (Author), Thadious M. Davis (Contributor, Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Born to a white mother and an absent black father, and despised for her dark skin, Helga Crane has long had to fend for herself. As a young woman, Helga teaches at an all-black school in the South, but even here she feels different. Moving to Harlem and eventually to Denmark, she attempts to carve out a comfortable life and place for herself, but ends up back where she started, choosing emotional freedom that quickly translates into a narrow existence.

Quicksand, Nella Larsen's powerful first novel, has intriguing autobiographical parallels and at the same time invokes the international dimension of African American culture of the 1920s. It also evocatively portrays the racial and gender restrictions that can mark a life.

"Fine, thoughtful and courageous. It is, on the whole, the best piece of fiction that Negro America has produced since the heyday of [Charles] Chesnutt." (W. E. B. Du Bois)

About the Author
Nella Larsen (1891-1964) was the author of two novels and several short stories. She received a Guggenheim fellowship to write a third novel in 1930 but, unable to find a publisher for it, she disappeared from the literary scene and worked as a nurse.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (January 29, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141181273
• ISBN-13: 978-0141181271
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #505,372 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unfortunately forgotten classic, February 4, 2002

By	J. C. Vera "intellectualised" (Miami, Fl United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Quicksand (Hardcover)

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.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Worthy Effort, December 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Quicksand (Hardcover)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quiet Genius, May 23, 2008

By	Giovanni Turner (Charlotte, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Quicksand (Dover Books on Literature & Drama) (Paperback)

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.