Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

5 reviews

novella42's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Islamophobia, Murder, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, and Xenophobia

jwells's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective

We should be mentioning James Baldwin every time someone makes a list of the great American writers. He's so wise and compassionate, so insightful and so eloquent. I only wish this book wasn't still so fresh and relevant as it was when it was written.
As an aside, I almost died when he was talking to the kid from the separatist movement.
Baldwin: So, when all the black people move out of the U.S., and form a new Black Muslim country, what will the economy of this new Black Muslim country be based on? Is there a plan for that?
The kid: *blank stare*
(Apparently no one but Baldwin thought to ask about that kind of thing...) LOL

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, Slavery, Police brutality, and War

I feel like we need two tags for racism, sometimes. One for a book that is racist, and another for a book that sensitively discusses racism from the perspective of a person of color trying to educate. This is the latter. It describes racism in a way that is uncomfortable to read, but it's an absolute classic for a reason.

theuncannydani's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Islamophobia

Moderate: Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Slavery, Trafficking, and Colonisation

samchase112's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

4.5

If we--and now I mean the relatively conscious whites and the relatively conscious blacks, who must, like lovers, insist on, or create, the consciousness of the others--do not falter in our duty now, we may be able, handful that we are, to end the racial nightmare, and achieve our country, and change the history of the world. If we do not now dare everything, the fulfillment of that prophecy, re-created from the Bible in song by a slave, is upon us: "God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more water, the fire next time!"

James Baldwin's essay is a masterpiece, and should absolutely be read by every American. The personal, intelligent nature of his prose is incredibly powerful. There is really no describing this book; it must be experienced.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Violence

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

lowri_'s review against another edition

5.0

“Life is tragic simply because the earth turns and the sun inexorably rises and sets, and one day, for each of us, the sun will go down for the last, last time. Perhaps the whole root of our trouble, the human trouble, is that we will sacrifice all the beauty of our lives, will imprison ourselves in totems, taboos, crosses, blood sacrifices, steeples, mosques, races, armies, flags, nations, in order to deny the fact of death, the only fact we have. It seems to me that one ought to rejoice in the fact of death--ought to decide, indeed, to earn one's death by confronting with passion the conundrum of life. One is responsible for life: It is the small beacon in that terrifying darkness from which we come and to which we shall return.“

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime and Racism

Moderate: Drug abuse