The Collected Essays of Ralph Ellison

The collection reads as uneven, prose swinging between vivid writing and dry academic argument, with more than one reader saying there's too much of the latter. The audiobook edition draws specific frustration, one listener calling it “pretty highbrow and dry for me unfortunately” before admitting they “lasted about 10h in before pulling the plug.” At roughly 900 pages, some essays get “had to skip entirely in order to retain shreds of respect,” and one reviewer's verdict is that the real insights, while genuine, are “not enough to support the full weight of this volume.” Of the interviews collected, only two are widely recommended, McPherson and Hersey, the rest treated as filler.