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ldpaige's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
You were not expected to aspire to excellence: you were expected to make peace with mediocrity.
For the horrors of the American Negro’s life there has been almost no language.
Beautiful. Stunning. I wish the pacing was the same between the letter and the essay, but you need to sit with both texts to truly hear Baldwin. I loved this read and highlighted so much.
The Black American experience through the eyes of Baldwin is just irreplaceable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Minor: Violence
yolie's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
2.75
A poignant collection of essays on racial injustice in the United States.
It does a good job of drawing the history of Black Americans from their arrival in America, working on plantations and the corrosive effect that slavery still has on Black Americans in the 60s (when the book was published) but as still relevant now.
While there were parts that stuck out to me, I recognise that the book didn’t entirely connect with me. Maybe the experience of reading a digital copy affected how much enjoyment I could extract from engaging with the book physically, but I sometimes struggled to follow along with an idea he’d introduce and sometimes it felt like a ramble rather than an allegory.
The book begins with a heartbreaking letter to his nephew, which acts as foreboding to the life which awaits him as a Black man in America. It’s sad how in all the time that’s passed since then, parents and guardians of young Black men still hold the same fear for them particularly in the political climate and social climate America is in.
The last quarter of the book, after he meets with the Nation of Islam, was what brought down the score for me as a couldn’t quite connect the lines.
It’s book I’m willing to revisit and read again if I were to get a physical copy of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Slavery and Religious bigotry
mattyvreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
One of the most important pieces of literature ever written. It is comprehensive, straightforward, and thought-provoking. Baldwin is a master of his craft.
This is the first Baldwin essay I ever read, and I was breath-taken. He remains one of my favorite authors of all time.
The fact that this essay is written as a letter to his nephew adds yet another layer of humanity and emotionality.
It is horrifying to realize the depth of this essay’s relevance 60 years after it’s publication. It is inconceivable.
This is the first Baldwin essay I ever read, and I was breath-taken. He remains one of my favorite authors of all time.
The fact that this essay is written as a letter to his nephew adds yet another layer of humanity and emotionality.
It is horrifying to realize the depth of this essay’s relevance 60 years after it’s publication. It is inconceivable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Police brutality
Minor: Homophobia
james1star's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
This was my first work by James Baldwin and will certainly not be the last. In these two essays/letters, he perfectly explains the ‘racial nightmare’ in America with such brutal honestly and rawness. It starts with a letter to his then fifteen year old nephew James telling him of his current place in American society as a young black man and how despite being destined to the gutter, he must accept himself and aspire for a better life. Then a much longer piece tells the reader of Baldwin’s experiences of growing up in Harlem with the many racial injustices, his interactions with religion (Christianity and later the Nation of Islam movement) and how we as a society much think about things differently to ever move forward. There are maybe some convoluted or slightly tangental passages but this adds to the human-ness and honesty he puts forward - it’s like he’s talking to you, sharing his thoughts and wisdom… amazing. At its heart, ‘The Fire Next Time’ is a plea to end the legacy of racial injustice that plagued (and still does) America at the time of writing in 1963 and was influential in the growing civil rights movement. Additionally, Baldwin’s grasp on the human condition is put forward with a pin-point accuracy that you can’t help but sit back and take a few moments to really take in. It may seem hard and a little preachy to some extent, but his message of love overcoming hate is what we should be aspiring to. The book has many well penned quotes/passages but these were my favourites - I am likely going to give this a reread and make more notes.
‘But what was the point, the purpose, of my salvation if it did not permit me to behave with love towards others, no matter how they behaved towards me?’
“I love a few people and they love me and some of them are white, and isn't love more important than colour?”
‘Life is tragic simply because the earth turns and the sun inexorably rises and sets, and one day, for each of us, the sun will go down for the last, last time. Perhaps the whole root of our trouble, the human trouble, is that we will sacrifice all the beauty of our lives, will imprison ourselves in totems, taboos, crosses, blood sacrifices, steeples, mosques, races, armies, flags, nations, in order to deny the fact of death, which is the only fact we have. It seems to me that one ought to rejoice in the fact of death - ought to decide, indeed, to earn one's death by confronting with passion the conundrum of life. One is responsible to life: It is the small beacon in that terrifying darkness from which we come and to which we shall' return. One must negotiate this passage as nobly as possibly, for the sake of those who are coming after us.’
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Slavery, Police brutality, Hate crime, and Religious bigotry
goldendreams's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Slavery, Alcohol, and Drug use
Minor: Rape
jaiari12's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Violence, and Racism
bookaholic_in_wonderland's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
milesjmoran's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Racism, and Police brutality
crackedspinereviews's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Review: I took a break from my spicy reads to be a little more philosophical and this book was just as fantastic as I had been told it was. The ideas and beliefs presented in this book, throughout the lens of Baldwin’s life journey, were profound and beautifully articulated throughout the entirety of this book. (Picking just one quote for the review snapshot was extremely difficult as I could take a highlighter to 95% of this book). If you are looking for a short and powerful non-fiction read I would recommend this one in a heartbeat!
Likes: Very relevant to our present day, thoroughly articulate, nuanced ideas
Dislikes: I would recommend listening to this as an audiobook as I find that helpful in digesting some of the more formal language and the older and more philosophical style of writing.
Tropes: non-fiction, memoir, philosophical
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism