The Outsider: A Novel

Written by Richard Wright

Narrated by JD Jackson

From Richard Wright, one of the most powerful, acclaimed, and essential American authors of the twentieth century, comes a compelling story of one man's attempt to escape his past and start anew in Harlem. 

Cross Damon is a man at odds with society and with himself—a man of superior intellect who hungers for peace but who brings terror and destruction wherever he goes. The Outsider is an important work of fiction that depicts American racism and its devastating consequences in raw and unflinching terms. Brilliantly imagined and frighteningly prescient, it is an epic exploration of the tragic roots of criminal behavior.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Caedmon
• Release date: Aug 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9780063004252

Richard Wright

Richard Wright won international renown for his powerful and visceral depiction of the black experience. He stands today alongside such African-American luminaries as Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison, and two of his novels, Native Son and Black Boy, are required reading in high schools and colleges across the nation. He died in 1960.

Reviews for The Outsider

[sigmundfraud · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Outsider is a wonderful book by the skilled black American writer, Richard Wright. Native Son his is best book and is a must read. Wright was born in the south and moved to Chicago as an adult. He was looking to escape the segregated south and was amazed to see the integration in Chicago. Richard became a Communist. His years with and after Communism dominate this book. The story is good but would be much better without the long stream of consciousness interludes and the long philosophical introspections which impede the flow of the story. He struggles with Communism, resigns from the party but is still very much involved with it and its members. If you want to know what life was like in the 1930s, 40s and early 50s for a black man you will find out here and it isn't pretty.

[beauxarts79 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Pages and pages of insufferable, abstracted pontification deposited in the mouths of stiff philosopher-avatars. Pedantic, which is bad enough, but sophomoric pedantry is worse. Only vanity could have convinced Wright he was onto something worthy of 600 pages.

[jonfaith · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I unfortunately read this at a time when it must have been incomprehensible. Dewed with youth, affecting an angst and still noshing fast food while often remaining awake for 24 hours at a clip. I only recall two episodes: the queue for the train and the encounter (molestation?) and the final slugfest of the ideologues. Perhaps my latest trek will lead me back to this door.

[babydoll1_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Richard Wright's 'The Outsider' is a phenomenal novel that draws the reader to the dark side of the life of the main character Cross Damon. This extraordinary character introduces the reader to a man who lives outside the norms, expectations, rules, ...more Richard Wright's 'The Outsider' is a phenomenal novel that draws the reader to the dark side of the life of the main character Cross Damon. This extraordinary character introduces the reader to a man who lives outside the norms, expectations, rules, and laws of society. He embraces no ideological, societal or governmental theories, and he claims no religious prinicipals. Wright allows the reader to imagine the life of an individual who has little emotional regard for his family, who constantly succombs to his desire for women, and whose destructive ideologies decide the fate of his life. This intriguing page turning novel will appeal to the reader from beginning to end. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys classic African-American literature.