Sport of the Gods

Rating:
Summary: Bleak, but powerful
Review: Have you ever wanted to yell out to the heroes of your favorite movie "DON'T DO THAT YOU IDIOT!!"? This book is sometimes frustrating because you, the reader, can see where the plot is going and want so badly to help the story's characters avoid what seems to be the inevitable. A naturalistic picture of life, and an often-missed text which deserves more attention. It doesn't make you feel good-- but it does make you want to be sure that people have choices, that this sort of thing isn't allowed to happen, that life isn't a series of "sport" that the gods (a vindictive type of gods) play with us. Powerful, powerful writing, vivid details and characters you just want to smack. Read it!

Rating:
Summary: Bleak, but powerful
Review: Have you ever wanted to yell out to the heroes of your favorite movie "DON'T DO THAT YOU IDIOT!!"? This book is sometimes frustrating because you, the reader, can see where the plot is going and want so badly to help the story's characters avoid what seems to be the inevitable. A naturalistic picture of life, and an often-missed text which deserves more attention. It doesn't make you feel good-- but it does make you want to be sure that people have choices, that this sort of thing isn't allowed to happen, that life isn't a series of "sport" that the gods (a vindictive type of gods) play with us. Powerful, powerful writing, vivid details and characters you just want to smack. Read it!

Rating:
Summary: Review of Sport of the Gods
Review: In this book, I believe Paul Laurence Dunbar used fictional characters to protray his thoughts about how the black race was thought of in the mid-1990s. He was accalimed for his way of bringing concern to the topic of racial discrimination through writing. The novel kept me interested, but wasn't something to make a movie out of.

Rating:
Summary: Great book that is often overlooked as a "required" classic.
Review: My point being if we're going to require our nation's youth to read Huckleberry Finn in public schools, it is a shame that this book is often left off of the course syllabus. Perhaps because African-American literature doesn't receive as much attention as it should expains this oversight, but regardless of which authors you consider early American classic writers, this book will appeal to all demographics.

An interesting story revolving around a black family that is forced out of the South after being falsely accused of crime. The story is a narrative of their actions and reactions to a new lifestyle in urban New York City. Great philosphical moments such as the bartender teaching the young man the ropes of life.

An interesting and quick read. It's hard to put down this book down.

Rating:
Summary: Great book that is often overlooked as a "required" classic.
Review: My point being if we're going to require our nation's youth to read Huckleberry Finn in public schools, it is a shame that this book is often left off of the course syllabus. Perhaps because African-American literature doesn't receive as much attention as it should expains this oversight, but regardless of which authors you consider early American classic writers, this book will appeal to all demographics.

An interesting story revolving around a black family that is forced out of the South after being falsely accused of crime. The story is a narrative of their actions and reactions to a new lifestyle in urban New York City. Great philosphical moments such as the bartender teaching the young man the ropes of life.

An interesting and quick read. It's hard to put down this book.

Rating:
Summary: From the South to the urban North
Review: Paul Laurence Dunbar's novel "The Sport of the Gods" describes the experiences of an African-American family in the years following the abolition of slavery. According to the introduction by William L. Andrews in the Signet Classic edition of the novel, "Sport" first appeared in "Lippincott's" magazine in 1901 and was published in book form a year later.

After a disturbing turn of events, the Hamilton family leaves their home in the southern U.S. and makes their way to New York City, where they try to start a new life. But the pressures of urban life have serious consequences for each member of the family.

"Sport" is a story about injustice, innocence, and temptation. As he follows this family's story, Dunbar looks at many different relationships: parent/child, husband/wife, black/white, etc. Particularly interesting is his look at the relationship between the media reporter and those who are the object of media reports. The book also presents an ironic view of artists and their connection to larger society.

"Sport" is a dark, moralistic tale. Although the characterizations are fairly shallow, Dunbar's narrative moves along effectively. I actually found the most intriguing character to be Skaggs, a white reporter for a "yellow" newspaper. This novel serves as an ironic complement to those slave autobiographies (such as the "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass") which depict a flight to the north as a liberating experience; the north in "Sport" is a cold, amoral place full of dangers for black people. Overall, this is a compelling book that I regard as a significant milestone in African-American literature.

Rating:
Summary: From the South to the urban North
Review: Paul Laurence Dunbar's novel "The Sport of the Gods" describes the experiences of an African-American family in the years following the abolition of slavery. According to the introduction by William L. Andrews in the Signet Classic edition of the novel, "Sport" first appeared in "Lippincott's" magazine in 1901 and was published in book form a year later.

After a disturbing turn of events, the Hamilton family leaves their home in the southern U.S. and makes their way to New York City, where they try to start a new life. But the pressures of urban life have serious consequences for each member of the family.

"Sport" is a story about injustice, innocence, and temptation. As he follows this family's story, Dunbar looks at many different relationships: parent/child, husband/wife, black/white, etc. Particularly interesting is his look at the relationship between the media reporter and those who are the object of media reports. The book also presents an ironic view of artists and their connection to larger society.

"Sport" is a dark, moralistic tale. Although the characterizations are fairly shallow, Dunbar's narrative moves along effectively. I actually found the most intriguing character to be Skaggs, a white reporter for a "yellow" newspaper. This novel serves as an ironic complement to those slave autobiographies (such as the "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass") which depict a flight to the north as a liberating experience; the north in "Sport" is a cold, amoral place full of dangers for black people. Overall, this is a compelling book that I regard as a significant milestone in African-American literature.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent work of literature and history
Review: Please disregard the comments on the review below. To begin with, "The Sport of the Gods" is not a commentary on the mid 90's! It is a novel from the early 20th century about the hardships of the negro race in the northern urban areas (NY in this case). The novel is a bit harsh in its depiction of prejudice but that is precisely what makes it most compelling. The lack of hope presented in it is a social commentary about both the white and the black trying to rise up from slavery. In general the book is excellent, sad at some points, funny at others, but mainly it is one of the jewels of American literature which needs to be read by all regardless of ethnicity.