If Beale Street Could Talk [Paperback]

 

 

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I think it sure would help our world if more people would read James Baldwin. He tells stories about parts of life (real life) and places in this world (in our country) that existed a long, long time without a reporter's voice. He wrote this book in the 1970's but it is still pertinent today. His talent is to turn into literature a reality that we might well prefer to hide from. His talent is not to be underestimated. He was a trained preacher and his cadence and language use are beautiful and compelling. There is hard well-honed anger fueling this story -- you can taste it as you read. But it is equally love that spurs Baldwin: the immense and enduring love he sees that holds people together in the corners where he's throwing his light for us to see. And, maybe more important, I contend that it is a bigger love and faith that moves his stories. Ultimately his faith is that in the possibility of our society waking up and responding out of love to the anger/stories/ reality he reports on. Why else would he tell us these stories if he didn't believe we could be moved and change? This book is a marvelous story of young love (Tish & Fonny) and mature love (Tish's parents/family) and distorted love (Fonny's parents) caught in a world that is cruel and arbitrary. It is the story of families holding together and falling apart as they cope and struggle with false accusations that tear their lives apart. It is about ways people: contend with / find resolve in the face of / are crushed by / survive and can be destroyed by / racism --as individuals; as families; as a society. And the nuisances of how racism works and the nicks and scrapes and deep cuts it wields along the way are everywhere, woven into the story not as didactic pounding away but as a subtle landscape in which the story's characters (and we) must find a way to survive. You can't read this story and not care. And where Baldwin leaves the reader in the end is exactly where we have to be left. Love can kill you - or maybe it can save us all. Baldwin was right to be angry and to make his anger known--and he was right to believe in love and to trust that the good in people can rise up--all people regardless of race--and make a difference. If only more people would read him and look at / think about the costs we all pay for letting racism survive we might find our selves on a path to a better future. Baldwin's left us these books. He did his part. We might all make a contribution by telling other people to read what her wrote.

It is always a great disappointment and a tremendous joy to read Baldwin. The author's ability to bring the experiences of African American life and the circumstances under which those lives are lived here in America is a joyful, although difficult, reading experience. The disappointment comes in realizing that although Baldwin's canon of work spanned the late 1960's through 1970's, many of the conditions that he writes about so candidly still exist in 2003. The novel is, at its core, a beautiful love story. Not the kind where man meets woman, they fall in love, marry, have children and move into their lovely suburban home adorned with white picket fence and a two car garage. For that American dream was rarely the experience of many African Americans during the period in which the novel is set. In this depiction of the American dream, Tish and Fonny meet as children, grow up and in love, all the while aspiring to create a life together. Their hopes for the future are destroyed when Fonny is jailed for a rape he did not commit.

With classic Baldwin insight, the novel reveals how individual, systematic and internalized racial hatred ruined the lives of two lovers and their families. From the white cop that set Fonny up, to the court system that held him down (although he had an alibi) to the family that turned their backs on him, all contributed to his destruction. When Baldwin isn't rendering a scathing critique of America's racial injustices, he's rebuking the unquestioning manner that many African American's cling to religion in hopes of obtaining freedom here on earth.

Although at times it is difficult to distinguish the characters' voice from the author's, the novel truthfully depicts a fictional account of the realities of America's racism. I thought the ending was a bit fatalistic but decided that is exactly the point that Baldwin was making about the future of America in the absence of full equality for all of her citizens. "If Beale Street Could Talk" is as tragic as it is loving. It's a great read that serves to remind and encourage. Highly Recommended.

When Michael Ondaatje spoke of author James Baldwin, he responded, "If Van-Gogh was our 19th-cetury artist saint, James Baldwin is our 20th century one". This statement is clearly evident in Baldwin's novel If Beale Street Could Talk, a masterpiece that will move readers in more ways than one.

In the story, we are introduced to Fonny & Tish. They are a young couple, in love and looking toward marriage and building a life together; Tish is also expecting their first child. When Fonny is arrested and jailed for a serious crime, instead of waiting Tish fights for Fonny's release. She is also determined to deliver the child that is a symbol of their love and from beginning to end; we see the power of love and the realities of life that even today is an absolute truth.

With many twists and turns, If Beale Could Talk is an emotionally charged masterpiece with honest themes and characters that are relatable. James Baldwin is truly an author who has made a mark and this is one literary work that is truly recommended---for all the literary world.

Reviewed by Kanika (Nika) Wade
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

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5.0 out of 5 stars Baldwin is beautiful!
There isn't enough that I can say about "If Beale Street Could Talk." It was one of the most captivating, loving, and pure novels ever written. Read more

Published on Feb 3 2003 by Rena

5.0 out of 5 stars What Beale Street said to me...
If James Baldwin were alive today, I would want to thank him. Many authors entertain me; many amuse me; and still others enlighten me. Read more

Published on Jan 29 2003 by B. Morse

5.0 out of 5 stars A Love Story Among Racism in 1970s New York
I have been on a quest to read James Baldwin's book-reread those I read in the 70s and search out those I have missed. And what a fruitful treasure hunt it has been. Read more

Published on Nov 28 2002 by Dera R Williams

4.0 out of 5 stars Street People
James Baldwin is an premiere 20th century writer of literature at the highest level. The fact that he chose a theme which was very important at the time of his writing is... Read more

Published on Oct 23 2002 by Beverly C. Sanders

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of Baldwin
This is a terrific book - not just for its high readability, but because it confronts a strata of life in America that many of us would prefer to ignore because we would rather it... Read more

Published on July 3 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars Realism at it's best
I thought it was a great book. I also think that this is the best representation of Baldwin's writing style. The way he can express multiple themes and emotions at one time. Read more

Published on Jun 9 2002 by Kid from Florida

4.0 out of 5 stars Realism at it's best
I thought it was a great book. I also think that this is the best representation of Baldwin's writing style. The way he can express multiple themes and emotions at one time. Read more

Published on Jun 9 2002 by Kid from Florida

1.0 out of 5 stars Huh? Is This Written in English? Well, Baldwin doesnt know
The very first thing one will notice when reading this book is that it starts to lose its tone of a 19 year old black woman complete with emotions and reverts to that of a certain... Read more

Published on Mar 27 2002 by Chris Day

5.0 out of 5 stars I LOVED IT!
I found this book covered in dust on and old relatives book shelf and fell in love with it! Everytime I read it I see something new. Read more

Published on Mar 27 2002 by BB

1.0 out of 5 stars If Beale Street Could Talk
I have not yet formulated an appropriate review however my intial thoughts on reading this book are as follows. Read more

Published on Mar 1 2002 by Chris Day

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