Daddy Was a Number Runner
Daddy Was a Number Runner by Louise Meriwether, published by Feminist Press at CUNY in 2002, is a poignant exploration of a young girl’s journey toward womanhood set against the backdrop of 1930s Harlem. This edition spans 234 pages and is presented in English. The narrative follows twelve-year-old Francie Coffin as she navigates the complexities of her environment, where her father’s descent into number running reflects the harsh realities faced by her working-class family during the Great Depression.
Readers will find a rich depiction of life in Harlem, where Francie’s dreams are constantly challenged by the dangers surrounding her. The story delves into themes of resilience and pragmatism, illustrating the struggles of a community grappling with poverty and systemic barriers. As Francie confronts the risks of her daily life, the novel offers insights into the broader social dynamics of the time, making it a significant contribution to the literary canon on the African American experience.
Official synopsis Publisher
This modern classic is “a tough, tender, bitter novel of a black girl struggling towards womanhood” in 1930s Harlem–with a foreword by James Baldwin (Publishers Weekly).
Depression-era Harlem is home for twelve-year-old Francie Coffin and her family, and it’s both a place of refuge and the source of untold dangers for her and her poor, working class family. The beloved “daddy” of the title indeed becomes a number runner when he is unable to find legal work, and while one of Francie’s brothers dreams of becoming a chemist, the other is already in a gang. Francie is a dreamer, too, but there are risks in everything from going to the movies to walking down the block, and her pragmatism eventually outweighs her hope; “We was all poor and black and apt to stay that way, and that was that.”
First published in 1970, Daddy Was a Number Runner is one of the seminal novels of the black experience in America. The New York Times Book Review proclaimed it “a most important novel.”
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