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sethdmichaels.bsky.social · @sethdmichaels.bsky.social@bridge.neodb.net

Rated The Street 10/10

What a great book! Had never heard of it until reading about it in [a:Brandon Taylor|19531469|Brandon Taylor|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'s newsletter. "The Street" in question is 116th St in Harlem but it's also any street where people are confined by racism and poverty. The book does a wonderful job of offering different perspectives, but centers on Lutie Johnson, a woman with a sharp mind and limited prospects, who's attuned to dynamics of race, gender, wealth, and power because she has to be. It's from the mid-20th century but feels very current and relevant - in form and style, but also, sadly, in content and theme. I also find it really impressive how Petry's narration moves around in time - the present moment of the book is always very fresh and urgent, it doesn't take much time to unfold, but it seamlessly moves into memory and flashback to put the current moment in context.

#book

Published 2026-08-18 14:45 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere