Amazing. I am so glad to have finally read this, and I am really looking forward to discussing this at book club tonight.Fauset crafts this story around Angela, a biracial woman who is light-skinned "enough" to pass for white. Her journey to self-discovery is fascinating, frustrating, and phenomenally written! (Fauset uses alliteration in such a masterful way, my attempt in no way matches her successful manipulation of words.)
Themes of loneliness, friendship, relationships, family, gender inequities, and racism are unmistakable, but not shoved down the readers' throats.
Angela is one of the strongest women from this era I have ever read. I wish I would have read this in college as an undergraduate. I connected with Angela's yearning for something more, even though what she truly wanted was always within her; her attempts to ease her loneliness, even in a lively, huge, bustling city made so much sense to me. The confusion in what society expects versus what a woman really wants--resonates tremendously.
I LOVED this book. The racial inequality and Angela's constant battle within herself and outside herself would be an excellent classroom discussion. The vocabulary is extremely intellectual--extremely valuable for students preparing for the SAT. My next goal is to try to get a classroom set of these books so I can teach this text.
Loved it.
