A Raisin in the Sun | 
| Author: Lorraine Hansberry
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $6.95
Buy New: $2.92
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New (72) Used (203) Collectible (7) from $1.11
Avg. Customer Rating:  136 reviews
Sales Rank: 913
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.5
ISBN: 0679755330
Dewey Decimal Number: 812.54
EAN: 9780679755333
ASIN: 0679755330
Publication Date: November 29, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: ALL BOOKS ARE BRAND NEW
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Product Description
When it was first produced in 1959, A Raisin in the Sun was awarded the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for that season and hailed as a watershed in American drama. A pioneering work by an African-American playwright, the play was a radically new representation of black life. "A play that changed American theater forever."--The New York Times.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 131 more reviews...
Good book - better play February 24, 2008
0 out of 6 found this review helpful
It is a nice book. The characters personalities made the book good. If the characters were changed the book wouldn't be as good. The story shows the life of a black family in Chicago and their struggles through the years they lived there.
 What Happens To A Dream Deferred? February 15, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Produced in 1959, A RAISIN IN THE SUN was the first Broadway play written by a black woman: Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965), a memorable author who based the central story on an incident that occurred in her own family and which eventually evolved into a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 1940 as Hansberry v. Lee.
The play presents us with three generations of the Younger family: the widowed matriarch Lena; her son Walter Lee and daughter Beaneatha; and Walter's wife Ruth and their son Travis. The family resides in a semi-slum apartment building on the south side of Chicago in the 1950s, where each tries to rise above the difficulties of their enviroment and the many social limitations imposed upon African-Americans at that time. But there is hope on the horizon: Lena is about to receive insurance money from her husband's death.
Unfortunately, instead of pulling the family together, the money actually drives them apart. Each member lays claim to it in some form or fashion. Lena dreams of owning her own home; daughter Bea is attending medical school and needs money to finish her degree; and most especially Walter Lee dreams of owning a liquior store. Bit by bit the pressure chips away at the family, already strained by years of frustration, and explodes at the play's climax--although not precisely in a way that one might foresee. When the explosion arrives it does not shatter the family; it unexpectedly reaffirms it.
When I review a play, I like point out that plays are not really intended to be read. They are intended to be seen on stage, where performing artists and designers breathe life into the lines and bring force to the story and its themes. This is true of every play. It may be especially true of A Raisin In The Sun, which on paper feels somewhat dry and slightly preachy. But I have seen the play performed--and let me assure that you that it brings the audience to hysterical laughter, painful tears, a sense of deep outrage, and an affection for its characters that few other modern plays can match. It is indeed a brilliant work and a great classic of 20th century American theatre.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
 Ho Hum Book - Good Play December 24, 2007
I found this a pretty boring book to read. Not particularly well written, but the overall story isn't bad. I really would recommend that you don't buy this book (get it from the library if you have to), but instead watch the dvd/video of the play (Danny Glover is hilarious in the lead role).
 Realism at work November 29, 2007
I found that this play was somewhat easy to read but definitely fits into the realism genre which I'm not really into so much. The story in mainly one about race relations but also has a large amount of insight on family dynamics. If someone is particularly interested in either topic they may very well enjoy this play much more than I did. The writing itself and character building was excellent, I just wasn't much for the topic.
"A Raisin in the Sun" Review September 17, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"A Raisin in the Sun" is an example of Midwestern African American literature, which delivers a realistic view of conditions of living for impoverished African Americans living in the Southside of Chicago. However, some tend to abjure this idea of Hansberry's play, they believe that her view of this lifestyle was exaggerated. The acumen of Hanberry's knowledge on the subject is lost on some, however her detailed sketch of the Younger's life shows the rest of us that this must have deeply affected her. The acerbic tone of Mama Younger when she is discussing money with her son shows Hansberry's expertise. With acrimony Walter (Mama's son) goes to his job as a driver of the rich every weekday. Hansberry's makes it clear to the reader that Walter has much antipathy towards the people he is driving around. Some may argue that in real life a chaffeur would be treated with more respect than which Walter received. However, from my experiences I've seen nothing but disrespect towards these workers. The apartment, in which the Younger's have lived for the longest time, is not a pleasant place to live. Hansberry's does an excellent job in the way she makes sure not to adumbrate the condition of the run down apartment. Some find it unrealistic that they could have been living in this ragged apartment for such a long time, and not being able to move out. This shows directly the unfair situations and poor pay that African American's received at this time in Chicago. Lorraine Hansberry's detailed play is for anyone who wished to understand the hardships of African Americans. Those who do not agree with Hansberry's interpretation of the time period are seriously misinformed. After reading this triumph Hansberry will truly have your approbation.
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