The cover page is adapted from Jossa, a painting completed between 1915 and 1918 by Christian Krohg. The cover and title pages feature the League Spartan and Sorts Mill Goudy typefaces created in 2014 and 2009 by The League of Moveable Type. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Krohgwww.theleagueofmoveabletype.com/
Quicksand
Chapters (27)
- Dedication 0:00
- Epigraph 0:04
- I 0:19
- II 23:04
- III 36:34
- IV 51:39
- V 1:03:02
- VI 1:11:56
- VII 1:26:58
- VIII 1:40:26
- IX 1:50:24
- X 2:04:57
- XI 2:15:39
- XII 2:28:05
- XIII 2:38:12
- XIV 2:52:52
- XV 3:14:15
- XVI 3:38:39
- XVII 3:48:15
- XVIII 3:56:25
- XIX 4:13:34
- XX 4:22:51
- XXI 4:37:06
- XXII 4:44:35
- XXIII 4:56:38
- XXIV 5:06:25
- XXV 5:21:16
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Quicksand, Larsen’s debut novel, opens with Helga Crane, a biracial woman, struggling to fit in at Naxos, a fictional Negro school where she works as a teacher. Dissatisfied, Helga embarks on a journey to find herself, moving through Harlem and Copenhagen in search of a place where she belongs. The novel explores themes of identity and race through the struggles of the mixed-race protagonist.
The novel was published in 1928 during the heart of the Harlem renaissance. Larsen herself was of mixed Danish and African American heritage, and the character and struggles of Helga Crane were heavily influenced by Larsen’s own life.
Today, the novel continues to be read as a prototypical reflection on what it means to be a part of a community, especially in relation to race, identity, and belonging.