pendragons's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-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
sanmeow's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.75
go tell it on the mountain is an impressive book in every way. the writing style is the most in-your-face excellent aspect of it. it's lyrical a lot of the time, which is something i absolutely love. the characters are so wonderful in how psychologically developed they are, as you read it's like their thoughts envelop your own. i love the way the author handled showcasing the intersection of race and religion, sexuality and religion, and overall one's identity and religion. doubting god is always extremely interesting for me to read about, so i knew i'd love this novel before i even got around to reading it. i actually loved the pacing here, despite it being a shorter book the pace wasn't fast. it takes time to read this, to truly savor the words and what meaning they carry. of course, one of the most valuable aspects is that this novel helps people understand the experiences a black family is likely to go through, and that was very eye-opening. i'd recommend this to anyone, i really think you can't go wrong with picking this up.
celiugh's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
emadisonc's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
giannacolo's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
varvara's review
4.0
This novel reads like a song. It's filled with music, and smells, and dust, and sunshine. It's my third book by Baldwin, and I can't stop wondering at how fantastically beautiful and precise his writing is.
lindapatin's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
eveemilie's review
challenging
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
godlizza's review
3.0
This book is hard to rate because I can see why it's considered an important book and there are great elements of writing here. I'm also willing to be more lenient because it was James Baldwins first book and it was largely autobiographical, but there were just some parts to it that dragged all that good story down.
This is very much a character study. While Baldwin is a prolific black writer, and many of his non-fiction delves into race relations, this isn't a book about race. It analyses how the different places and time periods these characters grew up in shaped them into who they are and how they view race and, primarily religion. This book is heavily seeped in Christianity, which is both it's strength and weakness.
The primary drive of the novel is how Gabriel is a preacher, yet he's a hypocrite. Preaching the word of God, then turning his back on those teachings and hurting other people with his own selfishness. THAT was interesting to me. But then we get these long sermons and inner monologues from all these characters that just devolves into a big mush of religious ranting. I honestly skimmed these parts because they were just a bunch of words spat onto the paper. Clearly a lot of people find it poetic or enlightening or something but I sure didn't.
This book would go from great sections- Florence's story, everything with Esther, Johnny's hatred of his father- to random raving about saints and sin, and 'oh Lord, lift me up!'
I wish James Baldwin had kept his book as a novel and saved all the cathartic religious mumbo jumbo for his diary.
This is very much a character study. While Baldwin is a prolific black writer, and many of his non-fiction delves into race relations, this isn't a book about race. It analyses how the different places and time periods these characters grew up in shaped them into who they are and how they view race and, primarily religion. This book is heavily seeped in Christianity, which is both it's strength and weakness.
The primary drive of the novel is how Gabriel is a preacher, yet he's a hypocrite. Preaching the word of God, then turning his back on those teachings and hurting other people with his own selfishness. THAT was interesting to me. But then we get these long sermons and inner monologues from all these characters that just devolves into a big mush of religious ranting. I honestly skimmed these parts because they were just a bunch of words spat onto the paper. Clearly a lot of people find it poetic or enlightening or something but I sure didn't.
This book would go from great sections- Florence's story, everything with Esther, Johnny's hatred of his father- to random raving about saints and sin, and 'oh Lord, lift me up!'
I wish James Baldwin had kept his book as a novel and saved all the cathartic religious mumbo jumbo for his diary.