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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
I read "Sonny's Blues" for an American literature class in college and I never forgot that opening sentence: "I read about it in the paper, in the subway, on my way to work." Baldwin writes beautifully about the despair of poverty, racism, addiction, and the jazz scene in 1950s New York.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
What can one say? James Baldwin does things with words that most writers can’t even hope to achieve. He’s truly one of the most incredible literary talents of all time.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Two of the stories - Going to Meet the Man, and Sonny's Blues - are absolutely stunning portraits of people caught in the cross-fire of racism and drugs in America. All of the stories bring their characters to life in a way that is characteristic of Baldwin's brilliance as an observer, participant and artist of time and place. I will go on reading and rereading Baldwin as long as I can read.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Short stories, even by the most talented authors, can often be hit or miss, unfulfilling, tiring. These, however, are all gorgeous and all moving. Baldwin perfectly utilised the form to capture a specific moment for each character, indicative of a much larger life and a society. Sonny’s Blues, Previous Condition and Come Out the Wilderness were my favourites but every one was equally as good as the next. Going To Meet The Man was perfect as the closing story and so difficult to read, perfectly and troublingly detailing the white man’s view of black men in America, the severity, violence, sexuality and danger involved within it. These may be perhaps more astute than many of his essays, for the way Baldwin uses characters to intertwine human emotion with the reality of society is nothing short of genius.
To enforce his power over her he had only to keep her guilt awake. This did not demand that he have, as, in fact, he overwhelmingly did have, an instinct for his own convenience. His touch, which should have raised her, lifted her roughly only to throw her down hard; whenever he touched her, she became blacker and dirtier than ever; the loneliest place under heaven was in Paul’s arms.
To enforce his power over her he had only to keep her guilt awake. This did not demand that he have, as, in fact, he overwhelmingly did have, an instinct for his own convenience. His touch, which should have raised her, lifted her roughly only to throw her down hard; whenever he touched her, she became blacker and dirtier than ever; the loneliest place under heaven was in Paul’s arms.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
dark
emotional
fast-paced