artemisreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
3.5
i rated it 3 stars in “this was amazing i just wasn’t in love it” way and not a “this was just average” way
nairijan's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
If there is a book out there to understand how beautiful and painful and real literature can be, it’s this one. Baldwin beautifully captures the pain and mystery of life through developing all these characters. I am going to wish I could read this again for the first time! This book broke me in the most heartfelt way
categal's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, just wow. I'm taking a ride with James Baldwin this summer, and it is fantastic. This was his first novel, semi-autobiographical, and just amazing.
Our man John Grimes wakes on the morning of his 14th birthday: we see the world through his eyes, we learn of the the members of his family, and then in the second part of the book, we go way into the lives of those family members. Way down deep, so that subsequent dialogue hits you like a freight train because you know the history of everyone in the room.
whew.
Our man John Grimes wakes on the morning of his 14th birthday: we see the world through his eyes, we learn of the the members of his family, and then in the second part of the book, we go way into the lives of those family members. Way down deep, so that subsequent dialogue hits you like a freight train because you know the history of everyone in the room.
whew.
twilliamson's review against another edition
3.0
There's something dizzying about James Baldwin's first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, published originally in 1953. Perhaps it's in Baldwin's prose, which tells the story of the novel's central characters in the language of a pentacostal revivalist preacher; or maybe it's in the way the book shifts between multiple perspectives to tell the stories of its main characters in such a non-linear structure; or maybe it's the book's overarching human themes, about repression and contradiction, about hypocrisy and self-righteousness.
It's honestly a beautifully written novel, cleverly constructed and driven by fallible human characters whose lives serve as an edifying reflection on the life of Blacks in America. Baldwin knows what he's doing with every page of the book, challenging his reader with dense paragraphs of lyrical prose in the form of a sermon even as he pairs the prose with recognizable dialogue that could fit in with the best period fiction to date.
Nevertheless, I find myself a bit exhausted by the experience of reading the book. Its first chapter chugs along and seems to have difficulty settling down into itself, and then its second section unloads meaningful character drama that almost seems out of place with the dense lyrical prose. While I found the second section of the book to be excellent character-driven human drama, I thought the first and last third of the novel were intensely boring, and don't serve quite so well to endcap the stories of the central figures in the second part of the book.
It's hard for me to look at a book with so much desire to love it and be simultaneously so utterly exhausted by it. There's so much that Baldwin does that I want to adore; his characters feel natural and human, driven by recognizable desires and changed by entirely heartbreaking situations, and his prose elevates the narrative in style totally unsurpassed by any of his peers. Even so, I find the book's almost continuous tone of a sermon to be insufferable, and as much as I love the characters and the way their problems reveal so many of the problems prevalent in American culture, I just can't engage with the narrative itself for anything other than short bursts. There's only so much of the prose's dense repetitiveness that I can take before my brain just checks out.
I think Go Tell It on the Mountain is clearly an influential book, and its themes of human vulnerability and strength, of sin and consequence and the hope of redemption, and of the weight of legacy are all truly excellent and worthy of artistic praise, but I openly just didn't really enjoy the book for more than a little bit of the long time I spent reading it. It's a book worthy of being read, and I don't regret any of the effort I undertook to read it; nevertheless, it's also a book I don't think I'll be picking up again any time soon.
It's honestly a beautifully written novel, cleverly constructed and driven by fallible human characters whose lives serve as an edifying reflection on the life of Blacks in America. Baldwin knows what he's doing with every page of the book, challenging his reader with dense paragraphs of lyrical prose in the form of a sermon even as he pairs the prose with recognizable dialogue that could fit in with the best period fiction to date.
Nevertheless, I find myself a bit exhausted by the experience of reading the book. Its first chapter chugs along and seems to have difficulty settling down into itself, and then its second section unloads meaningful character drama that almost seems out of place with the dense lyrical prose. While I found the second section of the book to be excellent character-driven human drama, I thought the first and last third of the novel were intensely boring, and don't serve quite so well to endcap the stories of the central figures in the second part of the book.
It's hard for me to look at a book with so much desire to love it and be simultaneously so utterly exhausted by it. There's so much that Baldwin does that I want to adore; his characters feel natural and human, driven by recognizable desires and changed by entirely heartbreaking situations, and his prose elevates the narrative in style totally unsurpassed by any of his peers. Even so, I find the book's almost continuous tone of a sermon to be insufferable, and as much as I love the characters and the way their problems reveal so many of the problems prevalent in American culture, I just can't engage with the narrative itself for anything other than short bursts. There's only so much of the prose's dense repetitiveness that I can take before my brain just checks out.
I think Go Tell It on the Mountain is clearly an influential book, and its themes of human vulnerability and strength, of sin and consequence and the hope of redemption, and of the weight of legacy are all truly excellent and worthy of artistic praise, but I openly just didn't really enjoy the book for more than a little bit of the long time I spent reading it. It's a book worthy of being read, and I don't regret any of the effort I undertook to read it; nevertheless, it's also a book I don't think I'll be picking up again any time soon.
theriseoflilith's review against another edition
3.0
this was mystical and amazing but to be frank i hated the end. i was hoping for a more revolutionary ending. still a masterpiece of language
brnczv's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.0
kylaoren's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
allieuofm's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the writing style and characters in this book, but the plot was super twisty and took a weird turn about 3/4 of the way through. Very interesting themes but I'd like to know more about the background and meaning.
sydnee_elle_17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mariel137's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25