Home to Harlem (1928) is author Claude McKay's first published novel. It tells the story of young Jake Brown, the protagonist of the novel, after he deserts the United States Army and heads off to London and a writer who immigrates to Haiti after he cannot bear the evils of racism in the United States. Jake lives in London for a spell, but after there is a violent race riot in Harlem, he is inspired to change his life and head back overseas to the town bereft of racial unity. On his first night in the city, he meets a young prostitute named Felice, who he spends much of the rest of the novel searching for, hoping to one day reconnect with her. Throughout the rest of the story, he meets different people of similarly differing backgrounds. This novel, like the three other volumes that come after it (Banjo, 1929; Gingertown, 1932; and Banana Bottom, 1933) explores the nature of the modern world and the place that black people hold in it.
At its core, Home for Harlem is about a man searching for what it means to be lower-class human (financially and racially) in a world consumed by greed and hyper-capitalism of the new, technologically advanced world. Perhaps his only classic, Home to Harlem is a historically important novel not least because of the period in which it was written, but because of its writer. McKay's Home to Harlem is an exceptionally relevant book -- not only for its vital themes, but also because it is simply good literature. As a black man, McKay infuses this novel with a unique and exciting new perspective on life itself. McKay was also influenced by African and other 'primitive' folk art, as well as Jewish, Russian, and and Irish literature.
Very highly-regarded, the groundbreaking novel holds a respectable 3.6/5 stars on book review aggregator Goodreads.com. But it wasn't without criticism upon release, with many saying that McKay was catering to black stereotypes. Nevertheless, Home to Harlem was propelled by this criticism onto the New York Times #1 Best-Seller List, becoming the first black man to have this prestigious accolade on his accomplished resume. Says Christopher Borrelli of the Chicago Sun-Times: "[Home to Harlem is Claude McKay's] one genuine classic" and that "McKay doesn't linger on circumstance, but rather, character, good and bad." While some find it painful to get through, Home to Harlem is still a nonetheless powerful and historically important book.
