Cover of Passing
Read Time: ~2.7 hr

Passing

by Nella Larsen (1929)

About this book

A seminal masterwork of the Harlem Renaissance exploring racial passing in 1920s America, tracking two childhood friends whose reunion leads to perilous deception, psychological obsession, and tragedy.

Setting / LocationHarlem & Chicago
Story Era1920s Jazz Age
Protagonist / CoreIrene Redfield & Clare Kendry

Readers who enjoyed this also loved

Cover of Rules of Civility

Rules of Civility

Amor Towles

On New Year's Eve 1937, twenty-five-year-old Katey Kontent meets handsome banker Tinker Grey in a Greenwich Village jazz dive, catapulting her into the glittering orbit of New York's aristocratic upper crust.

Cover of The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The exemplary novel of the Jazz Age, F. Scott Fitzgerald's third book stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published in 1925, this quintessential story of the decadence and excess of the Roaring Twenties follows the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan.

Cover of Black orchid blues

Black orchid blues

Persia Walker

"Lanie Price, a 1920s Harlem society columnist, witnesses the brutal nightclub kidnapping of the "Black Orchid," a sultry, seductive singer with a mysterious past. When hours pass without a word from the kidnapper, puzzlement grows as to his motive. After a gruesome package arrives at Price's doorstep, the questions change. Just what does the kidnapper want--and how many people is he willing to kill to get it?" -- Publisher.

Cover of R.U.R. and The insect play

R.U.R. and The insect play

Karel Čapek

"In 1920 Čapek wrote what was to become his most famous work, the play 'R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)', a meditation on the themes of humanity and subjugation that introduced the 'robot'. He was prolific throughout the 1920s, his plays addressing a range of subjects, although best remembered as a writer of early science fiction. Čapek also dealt with contemporary moral and political issues, including the rise of corporations and European fascism"-- "Determined to liberate the mass-produced but highly intelligent robots forged in the machinery of Rossum's island factory, Helena Glory arrives in a blaze of righteousness. Soon perplexed by the robots' seeming humanity but absolute lack of sentience, she deserts her strident campaigning and falls in love with Domin, the factory's General Manager. Yet even as their life on the island appears to become more comfortable, the tide is turning against the humans ... Drawing huge international attention following its original production in 1921, 'Rossum's Universal Robots' was a strikingly prescient meditation on the themes of humanity and subjugation that were to dominate the twentieth century. Seen as a precursor to works including Huxley's 'Brave New world', it is a true classic of the dystopian genre, and remains all too resonant"--

Passing by Nella Larsen | Literally Just Books