A review by midnightmarauder
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

If Beale Street Could Talk is a novel that follows the two protagonists, Fonny, a young man who is currently in jail for rape, and his girlfriend, Tish, who finds out that she is pregnant while Fonny is serving his sentence. The book mainly follows Tish as she and her family attempt to get Fonny out of jail. 

The book is a romance novel through and through. The love that Tish has for Fonny and vice versa is constantly put on display. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment