A Father's Law
Richard Wright
- “An
- intense,
- provocative,
- and
- vital
- crime
- story
- that
- excavates
- paradoxical
- dimensions
- of
- race,
- class,
- sexism,
- family
- bonds,
- and
- social
- obligation
- while
- seeking
- the
- deepest
- meaning
- of
- the
- law."
- —
- BooklistOriginally
- published
- posthumously
- by
- his
- daughter
- and
- literary
- executor
- Julia
- Wright,
- A
- Father’s
- Law
- is
- the
- novel
- Richard
- Wright,
- acclaimed
- author
- of
- Black
- Boy
- and
- Native
- Son,
- never
- completed.
- Written
- during
- a
- six-week
- period
- prior
- to
- his
- death
- in
- Paris
- in
- 1960,
- it
- offers
- a
- fascinating
- glimpse
- into
- the
- writer’s
- process
- as
- well
- as
- providing
- an
- important
- addition
- to
- Wright’s
- body
- of
- work.In
- rough
- form,
- Wright
- expands
- the
- style
- of
- a
- crime
- thriller
- to
- grapple
- with
- themes
- of
- race,
- class,
- and
- generational
- conflicts
- as
- newly
- appointed
- police
- chief
- Ruddy
- Turner
- begins
- to
- suspect
- his
- own
- son,
- Tommy,
- a
- student
- at
- the
- University
- of
- Chicago,
- of
- a
- series
- of
- murders
- in
- Brentwood
- Park.
- Under
- pressure
- to
- solve
- the
- killings
- and
- prove
- himself,
- Turner
- spirals
- into
- an
- obsession
- that
- forces
- him
- to
- confront
- his
- ambivalent
- relationship
- with
- a
- son
- he
- struggles
- to
- understand.Prescient,
- raw,
- and
- powerful,
- A
- Father's
- Law
- is
- the
- final
- gift
- from
- a
- literary giant.
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