#82 - "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

I finished my 82nd book, Invisible Man, in January. Ralph Ellison’s 1952 work is a novel of racial tension in Interwar America; not an uncommon theme on this list, and one I was expecting to be similar (which isn’t a bad thing), to Native Son.

Invisible Man is the story of an unnamed narrator’s journey from the South in an unspecified time, to New York, where he works for social justice and racial equality. Starting as a gifted but underprivileged orator, he is able to obtain a scholarship through a humiliating “battle royale,” where he defeats other young, blindfolded, black men, fighting for a sac of fake gold pieces.

#74 - "Native Son" by Richard Wright

I've just completed perhaps my fastest read since I started through these 100 books. Native Son, my 74th book from Time's list, and its 430 pages only took four days to read. Of course books like Animal Farm took less time, but you know what I mean...

I'll assume the chief reason I read it so fast, was that I enjoyed it so much. It was a real page turner, and one I couldn't put down. But while I couldn't wait to read the next page, at the same time, I dreaded reading that page. This book was a tragedy in the truest sense of the word. It was gut wrenching, heartbreaking, frustrating, and maddening. And wonderful.

Bigger Thomas, a 20-year-old African-American man lives in a rat-infested, one-bedroom apartment on Chicago's South Side. Living in quarters so cramped, he and his brother are forced to turn their heads when his mother and sister wish to change, as there simply isn't any privacy in their one room.

#73 - "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston

So far, through the first month, my re-dedication is going well, and I can now boast that #73, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is in the can. It was a relatively quick read that I was able to finish last weekend, but didn't have a chance to put my thoughts to paper until now.

This is yet another book I knew nothing about until starting this project over four years ago. But that shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody anymore; after a quick look at the 73 book I've read so far, I'd guess I knew next to nothing about 55 of them. So I suppose this latest one can get in line...

Their Eyes Were Watching God is the story of Janie Crawford, and African-American woman born into poverty in the late 19th century. The result of her mother's rape by a school teacher, Janie is raised by here grandmother, a former slave.

#66 - "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck

This was a book I felt I was somewhat familiar with before I started reading it. I know now that the only reason I thought that was because I was aware of the movie starring Henry Fonda, and I knew it involved the Dust Bowl and the great migration to California. But really, I didn't know anything about this book. And most importantly, I didn't know what a good book it was, nor what a fantastic writer John Steinbeck was. I regret that I hadn't read this sooner.

The Grapes of Wrath is the story of the Joad family, who have been evicted from their farm in Oklahoma and find themselves unemployed and homeless. After learning of the opportunities in the fertile lands of California picking fruit, they sell the bulk of their few possessions, load up the family truck, and head West.

As they set out, they're full of hope, having heard California is so bountiful you can just pick fruit of the side of the road whenever you are hungry, and that the millions of acres of farmland are in desperate need of hard-working people to earn top wages. Naturally everything doesn't turn out as well as they had hoped. To begin, the journey to California, via jalopy, across terrible road conditions through deserts and mountains, proves more arduous than expected. Unlike travel today, the Joads face a journey where a blown tire between towns could mean death, and sooner rather than later, it does for some of them.

That hath contrived this woful tragedy!

Here I write, not quite halfway through The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski, wondering what is taking so long.  I look at this book and its' modest 234 pages, and figure I should finish it quite quickly.  But here I am, a week in, not having reached the halfway mark.  The book itself isn't a difficult read, and I always feel as if I am making good progress.

When I first starting reading this, I had thought it was 'about the Holocaust,' a general statement if ever there was one.  This only really came from having once seen the book described as 'Holocaust literature' though, not from having read any details about plot or theme.  I now know, that while it may have taken place during the Holocaust, it is about a boy, alone, struggling to survive.  He roams from village to village, staying with whoever will take him in, trying to avoid death.  But each encounter seems to end in some sort of horrible tragedy.

It occurred to me yesterday that it is these tragedies that are slowing me down.  Each chapter seems to begin relatively calmly, as the boy finds a new home, and while life isn't all peaches and cream, it could be much worse.  But as the chapter develops, things begin to unravel, as each chapter crescendos into a roar of horror and tragedy.  At the end of each, I feel as if I need to put the book down and allow the things I just read to soak in, like the pause one experiences after witnessing a horrible car accident.

But the tragedies in this book, despite being depressing as hell, aren't stopping me from enjoying the read.  The only problem is they may be stopping me from picking up the book.  While it sits on the coffee table, I can think of a million things to do instead of reading it, but once I do pick it up, it's quite enjoyable, despite being so horrific.

I would like to finish it sometime before the weekend, and have stopped reading any non-fiction on the side until it is finished.  I also need to start thinking about what books I'm going to read as I approach the halfway point.  I have often said I would read Lord of the Rings as my 50th book, and that still may be the case.  But what to read for number 49?  I currently have Native Son, All the King's Men, The Sot-Weed Factor and White Teeth out from the library.  Having read that The Sot-Weed Factor is as funny as Catch-22, it may be a nice fit after this less than funny read.