A Raisin in the Sun

By Lorraine Hansberry

A family's dreams clash with harsh realities in 1950s Chicago, testing their unity and hope.

3.9/5 Goodreads · 114,421 ratings

151 pages· 31,611 words

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Bookroo's summary

In 1950s Chicago, a working-class Black family grapples with dreams and harsh realities. As they strive for a better life, their aspirations are tested by societal pressures and internal conflicts. Will their dreams flourish or wither like a raisin in the sun? This powerful drama explores the resilience and struggles of a family determined to rise above their circumstances, offering a poignant reflection on race, identity, and the pursuit of happiness. Discover the timeless story that reshaped American theater and continues to resonate with audiences today.

From the publisher

“Never before, in the entire history of the American theater, has so much of the truth of Black people’s lives been seen on the stage,” observed James Baldwin shortly before A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway in 1959. This edition presents the fully restored, uncut version of Hansberry’s landmark work with an introduction by Robert Nemiroff. Lorraine Hansberry’s award-winning drama about the hopes and aspirations of a struggling, working-class family living on the South Side of Chicago connected profoundly with the psyche of Black America–and changed American theater forever. The play’s title comes from a line in Langston Hughes’s poem “Harlem,” which warns that a dream deferred might “dry up/like a raisin in the sun.” “The events of every passing year add resonance to A Raisin in the Sun,” said The New York Times. “It is as if history is conspiring to make the play a classic.”

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