Reviews

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

jkwriting24's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

illiterate_man's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

This was my first ever James Baldwin read, he is my hero!! At the time of writing this review, it has been over a year since i read it. After all this time, I am still in awe at how a person can write so beautifully. It is like he is writing about your life. The reader is simultaneously the subjects of the book, the audience, and the narrator. I’ve never read from someone who could do such a feat. Truly a beautiful person, I’m so happy I live in a world where James Baldwin has existed. (it’s only 4.5 and not 5/5 stars because i got confused sometimes but once you get it it’s mind blowing)

noah_d's review against another edition

4.0

A story about a boy being saved that I’m pretty sure made me less religious than I already was going in

melaniem03's review against another edition

2.0

I've been on a Baldwin kick recently but this was a chore to get through for me. It is so central to the theme and his life (for which this is somewhat autobiographical), but the religious focus was hard for me to resonate with. I would struggle to fully frame up some of the key takeaways but I might not have been in the right headspace either for this one.

cdbaker's review against another edition

4.0

Excellent. I'm really glad that I finally got around to reading it.

eleniphant's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

sagelikesscats's review against another edition

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

4.5

akallabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

james baldwin's semi-autobiographical first novel is incredibly written (as you'd expect), but a tough read for me - it's a short book but a dense one too. 

it deals with some very heavy topics, obviously, but it was maybe the parts that went really deep into evangelical (pentecostal, specifically) christian theology/philosophy/etc how this shapes your worldview that were the biggest challenge for me. this was especially the case for the sections written from the perspective of family patriarch gabriel grimes, an incredibly vividly drawn character, but a difficult one to spend time with.

it's been a while since a book this short (about 250 pages) took me this long to read, but i'm glad i finally picked it up. 

isaarusilor's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

jakekeller's review against another edition

emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Very descriptive and imaginative. As a visual reader, I’ve never seen such clear images while reading. Wonderfully articulated with no details overlooked.