Juneteenth

By: Ralph Ellison

Libby audiobook 14:30 hours

Read by: Joe Morton 

Published: 1999 (I think)

Genre: fiction, race

 

I checked this out because I'm trying to read "great works" and "great authors" to expand my horizons. But I honestly have not been enjoying it. So Louie convinced me to blog what I've listened to so far (5 hours, 13 minutes) and move on.

 

The introduction is by John F. Callahan, who published it after Ellison's death (and did some editing to get it ready for publication). Ellison started on it just two years after Invisible Man came out and worked on it for forty years! The introduction was quite interesting, but hearing him say "quote, unquote" over and over and over got old.

 

I own a print copy of Invisible Man (which I've not yet read) and I did some online reading to figure out what I'm missing by not listening to the next nine hours of this book . . . I think I made the right choice by stopping here. 

 

From Ebsco.com: ""Juneteenth" by Ralph Ellison is a complex narrative that delves into themes of race, identity, and historical memory through its portrayal of the relationships between its central characters. The story unfolds with Reverend Alonzo Hickman and his congregation traveling to Washington, D.C., to confront Senator Adam Sunraider, who is embroiled in race-baiting rhetoric. The congregation believes they can redeem Sunraider, who was once a member of their community as a boy named Bliss. However, the unfolding events reveal deeper layers of Sunraider's character and his manipulative agenda."

 

In chapter two, the Senator's speech made me think of 1984's doublespeak. It's almost surreal listening to it.

 

I made a note: "PEOPLE don't save souls!" Only God has this power

 

It was hard for me to decide who I disliked more - Bliss / the Senator or Reverend Hickman. Ugh. Hickman's preaching all seemed to be for his own glory, not for God. 

 

Hickman says, " . . . black boys and brown girls . . . " at one point. I thought, "why are the children two different colors - one for each gender?" I don't care enough to dig into it, but it seemed odd. 

 

I had other thoughts on this but didn't write other notes. 

 

It was fun in the intro when he said Ralph Ellison was named for Ralph Waldo Emerson . . .  

 

I do plan on reading Invisible Man at some point, but I'm going to move on to a different audiobook for sure!