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A review by hopebrasfield
Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone by James Baldwin
5.0
No such thing as a bad Baldwin book.
Baldwin is so good at the whole, "past timeline, present timeline, past timeline, present timeline," thing. I'm not sure if that has a particular name. He does it in a way that feels both expansive and immediate, if this makes sense.
I appreciated all the little nods to luck, both bad and good, as it relates to the trajectory of a life.
Quotes:
"A child's major attention has to be concentrated on how to fit into a world which, with every passing hours, reveals itself as merciless."
^ This took me years to understand and yet here he is, casually explaining the concept in just one sentence.
"Our differences were reducible to one: I was an artist. This is a very curious condition, and only people who never can become artists have ever imagined themselves as desiring it. It cannot be desired, it can only--with difficulty--be supported, and one of the elements to be supported (along with one's own unspeakable terrors) is the envy, rage, and wonder of the world."
^ I think Baldwin's MC, if not Baldwin himself, would've been as intrigued and horrified by how this plays out today as the rest of us. I've experienced this sort of feeling out in the real world, but to be confronted with it near daily on the internet is something else.
Baldwin is so good at the whole, "past timeline, present timeline, past timeline, present timeline," thing. I'm not sure if that has a particular name. He does it in a way that feels both expansive and immediate, if this makes sense.
I appreciated all the little nods to luck, both bad and good, as it relates to the trajectory of a life.
Quotes:
"A child's major attention has to be concentrated on how to fit into a world which, with every passing hours, reveals itself as merciless."
^ This took me years to understand and yet here he is, casually explaining the concept in just one sentence.
"Our differences were reducible to one: I was an artist. This is a very curious condition, and only people who never can become artists have ever imagined themselves as desiring it. It cannot be desired, it can only--with difficulty--be supported, and one of the elements to be supported (along with one's own unspeakable terrors) is the envy, rage, and wonder of the world."
^ I think Baldwin's MC, if not Baldwin himself, would've been as intrigued and horrified by how this plays out today as the rest of us. I've experienced this sort of feeling out in the real world, but to be confronted with it near daily on the internet is something else.