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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
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
James Baldwin will always be a 5 star for me no matter what. You can cut the tension with a knife in the first two stories.
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
James Baldwin is a great writer and he makes it easy to fall into the narrative of each short story. You know it's interesting when it has me googling articles for the summaries and meanings to each story like I'm back in school. I can tell this one will get better upon rereads.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Cursing
challenging
dark
tense
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i don't i have words to describe what I'm feeling after this book
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“There was a long pause, while they talked up there in the indigo light and after awhile I saw the girl put a Scotch and milk on top of the piano for Sonny. He didn’t seem to notice it, but just before they started playing again, he sipped from it and looked toward me, and nodded. Then, he put it back on top of the piano. For me, then, as they began to play again, it glowed and shook above my brother’s head like the very cup of trembling.”
eight stories that range from great to some of the most stunning prose ever! baldwin describes everything so richly and with so much intensity in a way that always manages to sneak up on you. just amazing!!!
eight stories that range from great to some of the most stunning prose ever! baldwin describes everything so richly and with so much intensity in a way that always manages to sneak up on you. just amazing!!!
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Harrowing. But important.
The savagery of the lynch mobs was not just in the utter brutality of their actions but in the depraved delusion that they were doing something righteous. That's the twist of the knife.
It is a story of how racism is passed down through generations, an invisible sickness that rages in the psyche and systems of white people. Baldwin makes it starkly clear that racism is a white man's sickness. And yet - here we are, where black people still carry the burdens of a white society.
The savagery of the lynch mobs was not just in the utter brutality of their actions but in the depraved delusion that they were doing something righteous. That's the twist of the knife.
It is a story of how racism is passed down through generations, an invisible sickness that rages in the psyche and systems of white people. Baldwin makes it starkly clear that racism is a white man's sickness. And yet - here we are, where black people still carry the burdens of a white society.