Down These Mean Streets

The novel I have been reading is called Down These Mean Streets, by Piri Thomas. The story is a memoir of Piri’s life. The book starts out when Piri is twelve and he is living in the Spanish Harlem in 1928. The book is broken down into three different sections, one over his life between Harlem and Long Island, one over his life down south, and one over his life in prison.

               

Piri was born of Puerto Rican and Cuban parents in New York City’s Spanish Harlem. His father was the only one working and had trouble making enough money for the family to live comfortably. Piri encountered a lot of problems involving his race because the kids on his street thought he was black and not Puerto Rican. Piri was forced to stand up for himself but ended up in the hospital after one of the kids threw rocks and dirt in his eyes. By this time Piri’s father had gotten another job and was able to move his family out of the Spanish Harlem and into Long Island. When Piri and his family move to Long Island he hates it and decides to move back to Harlem. Piri is going through a lot of personal conflicts regarding his skin color, “’You understand, Momma-I gotta find me. Maybe if I had come outta you with the same kinda color as them’-my eyes swept across my paddy-fair brothers-‘maybe I wouldn’t feel like I do. Who knows? Maybe I’m jealous. Maybe I hate ‘em for what I’m not-“’ (Piri Thomas, 149-150). Piri decides to move down south with his friend Brew to discover who he is. While Piri is down south he tries really hard to prove to people that he is Puerto Rican and not black. While he is down south his friend Brew disappears and he decides to return to Harlem where he is faced with the death of a family member and decides to return back to Long Island with his father. From there Piri’s life goes downhill as he starts hanging around people that are no good. He gets addicted to drugs and commits a crime that puts him in prison for many years.

               

This book was very inspirational and is proof that one bad decision doesn’t determine the rest of your life and who you are as a person. I would recommend this book to anybody who is going through a hard time in their life and needs a little bit of reassurance. I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody who doesn’t like slang and controversial materials such as drugs, street violence, robberies and shootings. To me, it was a very good book and I enjoyed reading it and learning Piri’s story, I hope you enjoy it as well.  

Book Review by Rylee S.