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snailslowreader's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Go Tell It on the Mountain's emphasis on Christianity and how characters interact with it may seem alienating for a reader who isn’t interested in the topic, but by grounding the book in fundamental human emotions, it's made far more accessible. Baldwin is particularly interested in the deep anxieties and pressures of conforming with those who truly believe in God, and not knowing if you want to conform. The question of how someone knows they are “saved” is one way that the book expands into themes of self-hatred, understanding yourself, and insecurity in one’s past and future. The book is told by multiple members of a family: a boy, his aunt, his stepfather, and his mother, who all ruminate on their own callings—religious or not—and how they have strayed, or the costs of following them. Baldwin captures his characters’ intense and contradictory feelings in a way that’s insightful and beautifully written without being pretentious. By inviting some of the other characters to tell their stories and secrets, Baldwin is able to more subtly explore how their trauma ripples through generations.
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
lolabee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content
genstrong's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Police brutality, Murder, and Pregnancy
fatkingslug's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Police brutality, and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia
meganfletcher's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Minor: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Violence
steveatwaywords's review against another edition
- 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
More, though, I am compelled by the beauty of Baldwin's prose. His internal dialogues pulse with blood and belief, with characters who often think or act from a rich river of motivations. No shallow staples of literature here. Read passages aloud to feel this fully. I know I did.
Too, there is a great deal in the story which is sublimated, left unspoken and seemingly untested. For every character who takes their turn at a "prayer," three others reveal their equal tenacity, equal clamor, for story. For every action we believe we understand, three less-articulated causes presume themselves. And later influence. The social circumstances of race are only one background which unsettles itself into these lives.
This is not a fast read. Baldwin's prose compels us to labor a bit, to digest carefully. Had I not, I might have wondered why any of these characters really matter. It is, perhaps, because no character here exists as a prop or a literary guise. We experience an intimacy of happenings from which we cannot turn away.
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, and Violence
catwhisperer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
remib's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit and War
anniefwrites's review against another edition
- 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
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