_alwaysrealokay's review against another edition
2.0
This was an alright book. In all the passing narrative I've read so far this year, this one was the most anticlimactic one. The story was well written enough but the reason he chose to pass can be seen as cowardness.Or as someone who never truly felt black although he grew up emerge in the culture. All I'm going to say is the narrator is lying to himself big time. If you read the book, you will understand what I mean.
kaileycool's review against another edition
4.0
Read this for my “In the Heart of the City” class. Very engrossing in its variance between history and personal memoir. He seemed to get more able to poignantly consider his own relationship to “the negro problem” as he got closer to his current state, but I was not ready for his closing reflections. Damn.
car1ssa's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jenmkin's review against another edition
4.0
The thematic thread of the significance of music that Johnson weaves throughout the story and is such a beautiful way to represent the narrator’s process of decision making.
Parts of the book are hard to read, because Johnson doesn’t shy away from the harsh treatment of Black people in the South, but rather forces his readers to experience these truths along with his narrator, a necessary confrontation of the facts that refuses to romanticize or overlook something horrible.
Parts of the book are hard to read, because Johnson doesn’t shy away from the harsh treatment of Black people in the South, but rather forces his readers to experience these truths along with his narrator, a necessary confrontation of the facts that refuses to romanticize or overlook something horrible.
declan789654's review against another edition
3.0
Picked up this book following a reddit thread of 'Top 50 novels under 200 pages', I knew nothing about James Weldon Johnson before starting.
A well written book regarding the life of a black man, passable as white, with the experiences he goes through during his teens-early 20s then his much later life. There are varying points in which race is debated in his experiences but he has the privilege of not having to make the decision to stand up for his beliefs. (Privilege in this sense is spoken in regards to the luxury of silence given to a 'white' person in any situation regarding race). Two parts of the book, you'll know when you have read them, give a deeper insight into the harsh reality into the violence of the American South during the early 20th century and were slightly troublesome to read.
His tours around Europe give a feeling of beauty in the reminder that music is a universal language loved from all - thus holding true the importance earlier in the book of learning a trade to help you travel, albeit not the one he planned to have learnt. I greatly enjoyed the ending, through his realisation that sometimes you don't appreciate or notice a chance situation which has favoured you well at the time, rather than the easy option he made for his children. No one has the right to judge him for this, you never know what you would do in the situation and protection of family would always be at the forefront of peoples minds.
A well written book regarding the life of a black man, passable as white, with the experiences he goes through during his teens-early 20s then his much later life. There are varying points in which race is debated in his experiences but he has the privilege of not having to make the decision to stand up for his beliefs. (Privilege in this sense is spoken in regards to the luxury of silence given to a 'white' person in any situation regarding race). Two parts of the book, you'll know when you have read them, give a deeper insight into the harsh reality into the violence of the American South during the early 20th century and were slightly troublesome to read.
His tours around Europe give a feeling of beauty in the reminder that music is a universal language loved from all - thus holding true the importance earlier in the book of learning a trade to help you travel, albeit not the one he planned to have learnt. I greatly enjoyed the ending, through his realisation that sometimes you don't appreciate or notice a chance situation which has favoured you well at the time, rather than the easy option he made for his children. No one has the right to judge him for this, you never know what you would do in the situation and protection of family would always be at the forefront of peoples minds.
faysak's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
i loved the simplicity of the writing and the honesty of the narrator. it really discusses the "race problem" of the time from different perspectives. its both hard and easy to understand the narrator's decision. (read for a class)
whitneyt's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
jackievr's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
katmystery's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written but from the view of a cynic. At times light, at others heavy. Enlightening; thrilling; heartbreaking.