Daddy Was A Number Runner (2002) - Plot & Excerpts
The book follows a twelve-year-old girl growing up in 1930s Black Harlem. The book offers a fascinating look into poverty in urban areas. Although set in the 1930s, I thought the book was closer to the pos-WW2 era. The time frame is not as important as the story. The heroine of the story learns many things while growing up. Her experiences could be those of any child living in the 1930s. She observed and felt a lot more anger than many other 1930s writers. Her best friend constantly wanted to beat her up, violence and aggression were constant among her brothers who were gang members, her father had anger issues, and of course, the police....What I found most interesting was how the heroine adapted to her environment. Young, naive, and good-natured, she increased her swearing throughout the book, she began stealing from shops, she developed her own anger and was looking for trouble, and she proudly relates how she threw rotten tomatoes at the police. The book is the story how an innocent grows up into a teenager (or adult) with simmering anger and fear. Sex also has a significant role in the book. The heroine's best friend has an older sister who is a prostitute. The heroine's brother emulates pimps, and probably replaces the main pimp in the book. The heroine, herself not even a teenager, uses sex appeal to get money or free food. She does not have sexual relations; but flashes pervy white males or allows them to grope her. She begins her foray into this marketplace by not understanding the motives of these creepy white men; but by the end of the book, she knows all too well.Race has a significant role in the book. Her African-American community is plagued with poverty. She grows up seeing that the few whites in her neighborhood are crooked, pervy, or stuck up. This translates to her increasingly resenting and possibly hating whites. The first five white people she meets in the book are all pervert males. Meriwether seems to see this, and quickly introduces two whites who are shopkeepers....with new prejudices. The book is not so much a study on race relations because it is told solely from the point of view of a young child. However, the antagonism is clearly present.I bought the book hoping to learn more about the numbers business. Meriwether does not go into the business except to describe the superstitious nature of the players. Her story is a brief window on the life of a young girl in crushing poverty. The value is showing how a young child develops prejudices that are often seen in adults.
I came across this book by accident, and after reading it, I'm really surprised that I hadn't heard of it before. I think this should be required reading in schools--a book that really gives you a look into a specific time in history, but is actually interesting and accessible to the kids reading it.The book tells the story of twelve-year-old Francie as she navigates her growing-up years through the increasingly rough streets of Harlem. Through the eyes of Francie, the reader sees just how desolate the Depression-era landscape can be--jobs are scarce, men are out of work, and children become adults way before their time. One the most striking parts of the book, to me, was the two contradictory sides of Francie. On one side, she seemed very nearly adult--setting up the family's "jumper" to steal electricity and knowing exactly which shopkeepers to avoid being alone with--but on the other, she was very childlike, like when she innocently mentions to her mother she found her father lounging on the bed of a neighbor woman, never grasping the enormity of what that actually meant.It was completely shocking to me how rampant sexual assault and molestation was, and how the girls in the neighborhood knew so early on what they needed to do to protect themselves. Still, it was very disturbing how the shopkeepers in the book took it as their due to fondle or molest the young girls, knowing full well the girls would keep coming back since their families needed the store's provisions on credit.Parts of this book were hard to read, but the story seemed so important that it seemed vital to finish. Plus, the writer crafted such a quickly-paced story that I never felt any drag in which I could even think about putting it down. If teachers are looking for a book on the effects of the Depression in poor urban areas, I really think they should give this a shot.
What do You think about Daddy Was A Number Runner (2002)?
2.5 stars...I feel like something is missing in this novel,this is my honest view.I have a love hate relationship with this book. I feel the message was there but did not come across as well as it could have, I came across this book by reading another fictional book based in Harlem. For me this book gives the reader a message of what it was like to be African American, poor and living in Harlem in the heart of the 1930's Great Depression in America. This is what I loved the overview it gave via Francie a 12 year old girl, but on the other hand I also hated this basic general overview of the situation for many African Americans during the great depression it lacks depth of the REAL hardship , political and environmental goings on during this period.I say it lacks depth, as after I finished reading it I did about an hours research into the Great Depression and learned so much more about the effect it had on America, the UK and African Americans. A lot of the political movements, trade union work and discrimination against African Americans eg wages paid at up to 30% lower than white Americans being forced out of unskilled work that was mainly done by African Americans were left out, therefore the message of life for this race was not fully told as well as it could have been.I did not know a lot about the Great Depression before I read this book and knew no more upon finishing it! Research enlightened me which is shame.... But the positive is at least the book sparked an interest and lead to digging deeper. If this depth was portrayed it would of gained a solid 3.5- 4 stars.The writing style is straight forward and easy to read, characters are a bit one dimensional over all it was an Ok read.I am convinced there must be other novels written slightly more better on this important historical time with a focus on African Americans.Was it a page turner? Sadly no not for me, is there an important message to take from the book? Yes but in a small dose. Would I recommend? To those interested in coming if age / historical fiction and black literature books. Sadly don't expect great history lesson!
—Kelly
this book takes place in Harlem and shows once again the struggles of African American families that live in poverty. Francine has a dad who runs numbers, which is illegal and sees her family crumple in front of her because of the lack of money. Her brother becomes a gang banger and her other smart brother drops out of school. Life for her is tough especially since she is so young and there are people who try to take advantage of her. Then there family reunites at the end. In all these books the white people hold power and live in luxury while the rest are in poverty dreaming for a better tomorrow.
—Diego Sanchez
A brutal and at times ebullient account of life in 1930s Harlem, in the midst of the depression, from a 12 year old girl’s point of view. If things are tough for the boys, who face work in the sewers if they’re lucky and instead join gangs and hang out on street corners, it’s infinitely worse for the girls: either you was a whore like China Doll or you worked in a laundry.. or had a baby every year. The girls take it for granted they would get ‘felt up’ when they go to the shops or the cinema (if they don’t let themselves get felt up they get less groceries). They all play the numbers in the forlorn hope of getting a windfall. However there is also music, laughter, a lot of fun, and support for each other. When boxer Joe Louis beats an opponent at Madison Sq Gardens, all Harlem are out on the streets: Strangers hugged me and I squeezed then back… The crowd spilled off the pavement into the street, stalling cars, which honked good-naturedly and then gave up as the riders jumped out and joined us in lindying down the middle of Lenox Avenue’.
—Alan
