Book Review: Fences

 Fences, written by August Wilson, is a fictitious novel that takes place in the 1950s. Even though this version of Fences is in a written form, it was initially presented as a staged reading. I would say that the age group is targeted for anyone who is a teenager and up. I fall into the teenage age group and even though this novel takes place in a time period far before I was ever born I found it quite interesting and entertaining. I thought this because the novel gives you a first-hand take of the African-American experience in this time period of racial discrimination and the conflicts in the relationships amongst the main characters really draw your attention as a reader. As you read on, you will find yourself taking sides with some of the characters and cheering against other characters.

The novel begins with some information on the setting and some historical information that’s relevant to the story, so the reader can have a better understanding when reading. The front yard of the Maxson household is where the setting takes place for practically the entirety of the book, so if you don’t like novels where basically everything happens in one place, I wouldn't recommend reading this. However, this shouldn't be the only reason for why you would choose to not read this book because the setting makes sense for this reading. The play centers on Troy Maxson, the main character, and focuses on his relationships with his friends and family members. If you read this book, you will see that Troy is one of those characters that you either love or hate, there is no in between.

One component of the novel that would greatly affect a reader’s choice in reading the novel or not is the language used. The word “nigger” is used throughout the novel and other harsh language is as well. So, I can see why people may not want to read this if they feel uncomfortable with the offensive language used in the novel. I personally think that this kind of language helps improve the novel because the language makes it more realistic, so I would encourage those of you who would feel uncomfortable reading this because of the harsh language to step out of your comfort zone and give this novel a try.

I think that August Wilson does an excellent job writing this play and displaying his ideas. He not only does a great job with examining relations amongst certain races but he also does a great job with showing the readers how women were treated. This may not be the main theme in the novel but he still shows that women were generally treated in a poor way and they did all the cooking, cleaning, and men were able to talk down to them.

Overall, Fences, is quite an appealing and intriguing novel that I would recommend in reading. Even though the novel is a short read, it is thoroughly written and has enough components to be a fulfilling story. As you read you see how stereotypes are tested, how Troy’s relationships with others develop, and how it affects these characters. So, I would recommend to go and read this book as I’m quite confident that it will be worth your time.            

- AKK