Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

18 reviews

rzh's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

again, i just LOVE james baldwin and he never lets me down. beautiful beautiful prose, really evocative and beautifully shapped characters, all with their own individual struggles and stories. i loved how it told the tales of the parents generations and treated them as the flawed young people they were: sometimes a difficult thing to do with older generations. i would maybe mark it down just a tad for being a bit slower paced than the other baldwin books i’ve read and maybe a little harder to follow with the abstract poetics of it but still loved it nonetheless. 4.25 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Grief, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Gun violence and Rape

caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition

challenging 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

Stunning. Intense. Powerful. Go Tell It on the Mountain is full of sin and sorrow and shame. If you grew up going to church (any church, not just Pentecostal) this book hits you hard. I can’t stop thinking about how the characters in this novel were supposed to be full of the love of the Lord but were so lacking in joy and forgiveness for their fellow human beings, even their brothers and sisters in the church. I’m going to need a minute to recover from this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Infidelity and Physical abuse

Minor: Hate crime, Rape, and Death of parent

aloy's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Racism and Slavery

anniefwrites's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

This was my first James Baldwin, and WOW. Moving plot, language that sucks you right in, vivid interior worlds of all the characters. What a magnificent writer. I especially loved the parts where I got to live inside the mind of such a tender, confused, emotional boy. The way the story concluded wasn’t what I expected, and it’s going to be a while until I can unravel my complex feelings about it. But all in all, Baldwin has such a strong yet delicate voice, and I’m looking forward to reading more of his work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Chronic illness, Homophobia, Infertility, Vomit, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and War

jamieruwen's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

3.5

It was beautiful, but also extremely painful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, and Suicide

Moderate: Sexual violence

lejam's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? No

4.5

This is my first book I’ve read by James Baldwin and I am obsessed. Though I’ve heard this is one of his “less well written” books or less popular books, you can already tell how powerful his story telling is. There’s something about writers during that time period and the strength of their words that I absolutely love. Highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

jojo_'s review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Racism

Moderate: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, Police brutality, and Death of parent

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

the_casual_reader's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I know it deserves more than 4.5 stars, but it was so dense, depressing and challenging, that I can't compare the experience reading it to the other 5 star books. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry