The Street by Ann Petry

The Street was my book club’s pick for September; the host had decided on a New York theme and had given us several options to choose from and this one won. After finishing this book, I can’t decide if I liked it or not. I definitely liked it up until the end, but found the end vastly unsatisfying. But that may have been Petry’s point; and it’s definitely a good choice for a book club pick since there is a lot to discuss here. Since this book was published in 1946, and is set in 1944, I assume that it speaks the truth about the conditions in Harlem and life for African Americans during that time period. And while I shouldn’t be surprised by some of it, I still kind of was. This is the story of Lutie, a single African American woman struggling to raise her son in Harlem. She is separated from her husband because he cheated on her and the only jobs she can get are menial and pay just enough for her to support her son but with no padding; they can barely save enough to go to the movies occasionally. And Lutie wants more for herself and more importantly, for her son and she’s fighting against a system that is bound and determined to not let her succeed. As I said before, the ending left me cold, it didn’t feel true to the rest of the story, although I won’t spoil it here. That said, it’s a powerful novel and will definitely make you think about injustices that still exist in America today.