jasonsilveira's review
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
persnickety9's review
5.0
This book is heart-wrenching with the most beautiful prose. It is sitting on my heart.
bryanfarmer's review against another edition
4.0
James Baldwin is a tour de force. This book was so ethereal, yet solidly grounded in real life. Gut wrenching and hopeful.
alexreads1502's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.25
sssnoo's review
5.0
I wanted to read this book before I watched the movie. This one short book, written 45 years ago, could be a contemporaneous account of today’s criminal justice system. How has nothing changed in almost half a century? Baldwin could be speaking directly to us today. Other than the “dig its”, “you cats” and other 1970’s jargon everything is as recognizable and real today as then. The beauty of the book is the portrayal of family in all its complexity. The ugliness of the book is the perpetual violence and injustice that is the legacy this country has yet to resolve. This is as close to a perfect book as I have read.
mmanfredi's review
5.0
This is an amazingly beautiful piece of art.
“One of the most terrible, most mysterious things about a life is that a warning can be heeded only in retrospect: too late.”
“It's astounding the first time you realize that a stranger has a body - the realization that he has a body makes him a stranger. It means that you have a body, too. You will live with this forever, and it will spell out the language of your life.”
“It doesn't do to look too hard into this mystery, which is as far from being simple as it is from being safe. We don't know enough about ourselves. I think it's better to know that you don't know, that way you can grow with the mystery as the mystery grows in you. But, these days, of course, everybody knows everything, that's why so many people are so lost.”
“But I know about suffering; if that helps. I know that it ends. I ain’t going to tell you no lies, like it always ends for the better. Sometimes it ends for the worse. You can suffer so bad that you can be driven to a place where you can’t ever suffer again: and that’s worse.”
“The mind is like an object that picks up dust. The object doesn’t know, any more than the mind does, why what clings to it clings.”
“One of the most terrible, most mysterious things about a life is that a warning can be heeded only in retrospect: too late.”
“It's astounding the first time you realize that a stranger has a body - the realization that he has a body makes him a stranger. It means that you have a body, too. You will live with this forever, and it will spell out the language of your life.”
“It doesn't do to look too hard into this mystery, which is as far from being simple as it is from being safe. We don't know enough about ourselves. I think it's better to know that you don't know, that way you can grow with the mystery as the mystery grows in you. But, these days, of course, everybody knows everything, that's why so many people are so lost.”
“But I know about suffering; if that helps. I know that it ends. I ain’t going to tell you no lies, like it always ends for the better. Sometimes it ends for the worse. You can suffer so bad that you can be driven to a place where you can’t ever suffer again: and that’s worse.”
“The mind is like an object that picks up dust. The object doesn’t know, any more than the mind does, why what clings to it clings.”
ssloeffler's review
4.0
I'm amazed how fast a read this was. The way Baldwin writes, you are sucked into a wormhole and dropped right in the middle of these people's lives and there you are. This is a devastating and hopeful and infuriating story.
burymeatmakeoutcreek's review against another edition
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A story so harrowing and so honest. I have read this book more times than I can count and the ending always shatters me. Love is what matters at the end, even in a world that is unjust and cruel.
iced_mochas's review
5.0
This has taken me through a whirlwind of emotions and I’m pretty sure I’ve just broken something inside. The story is desperately hopeful, yet painfully unfair. ‘Love’ is presented in such a raw, honest way – you end up enamoured in black joy, black love – and filled with this unexpected sense of warmth and comfort. Each character is developed so well and each person is uniquely affected by the situation. It’s as graphic as other James Baldwin novels. It openly references rape, and false accusations of rape, which is as relevant now as it has ever been. The US is renowned for putting men of colour behind bars without trial, some losing decades of their lives in prison, and this knowledge makes ‘Beale Street’ ever more excruciating. I’ll be honest: I didn’t enjoy ‘Another Country’ near as much as this. I am struggling to stop thinking about it. That’s when you know you’ve read a great book. I can’t wait to see what film director Barry Jenkins does with it.
codyboteler's review
4.0
Wrenching. Makes me want to read more Baldwin. Also, absolutely infuriating — this was written decades ago but it could be a story from last week.