Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
The first 5 short stories are really good. The last 3 I wasn’t a fan of and did not finish. The best story was “Sonny’s Blue’s” and what made me give this a 4/5 stars over a 3/5 stars.
"All the white people [Louisa] has ever met needed, in one way or another, to be reassured, consoled, to have their consciences pricked but not blasted; could not, could not afford to hear a truth which would shatter, irrevocably, their image of themselves. It is astonishing the lengths to which a person, or a people, will go in order to avoid a truthful mirror." It's horrifying how relevant some of these stories still are—all I could think of while reading the last in the collection, "Going to Meet the Man," about the lynching of a black man by a huge mob, was the white supremacist march in Charlottesville, VA that is over the news right now. We have not come as far as we think.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
James Baldwin. James fucking Baldwin.
Love of my life. Master of prose. Destroyer of my heart.
Perfectly incredible selection of short stories that ripped me to pieces. Devastating and wonderful.
Goddammit, my love for Baldwin has only increased. What a perfect way to start 2015's reading.
Love of my life. Master of prose. Destroyer of my heart.
Perfectly incredible selection of short stories that ripped me to pieces. Devastating and wonderful.
Goddammit, my love for Baldwin has only increased. What a perfect way to start 2015's reading.
reflective
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The titular story is the final one and by far the best of the bunch (which are all good too). I did on the whole like this collection, but straight up had to skip one story and was at least a teeny bit lost for a few others. But Baldwin is definitely worth reading, and I’m looking forward to trying others of his (like the iconic Giovanni’s Room).
It’s taken me so long to write a review for this amazing book!! But I am absolutely in love with James Baldwin’s writing style and just how as soon as you know your are reading Baldwin that it will be atmospheric and just wonderful. Can’t wait to read more
I have only read Sonny's Blues and Going to Meet the Man. Sonny's Blues was good but in my opinion Going to Meet the Man might be one of the most well crafted short stories ever written. The intensity of emotion, the finely wrought language. The plain and simple fact that Baldwin, was able to bring a sense of reality to his character. Brilliant.
The last 4 pages of this book have scarred me for life.
None of the stories in this book are all that long. The longest ones are about 40 or 50 pages, but what happens in these stories is pretty powerful. There are a couple of scenes in these stories that keep playing through my mind, and will likely stick with me for years to come.
It's hard to talk about this book without spoilers. On the one hand I don't really care about spoiling stories that are nearly old enough to be collecting social security, but on the other hand I know that these short stories have some real impact and a big part of that impact has to do with the surprise felt while reading. In this book Baldwin regularly lulled me into not paying too much attention and then he dropped a boat load of emotion in my lap and snapped me back to attention. Going by the writing in this book and his others I'm pretty confident that is on purpose.
Even though this book is older I would say it's a good one to come at blind. Not so much blind about the plot, more like just come at it without any expectations for anything at all. This book shook me awake, and I'm sure it'll do the same for some others out there. The stories The Man Child, Sonny's Blues, Come Out the Wilderness, and Going to Meet the Man had the biggest impact on me. Personally at least. If you appreciate any of his other fiction I would say this is a good one to pick up.
It's hard to talk about this book without spoilers. On the one hand I don't really care about spoiling stories that are nearly old enough to be collecting social security, but on the other hand I know that these short stories have some real impact and a big part of that impact has to do with the surprise felt while reading. In this book Baldwin regularly lulled me into not paying too much attention and then he dropped a boat load of emotion in my lap and snapped me back to attention. Going by the writing in this book and his others I'm pretty confident that is on purpose.
Even though this book is older I would say it's a good one to come at blind. Not so much blind about the plot, more like just come at it without any expectations for anything at all. This book shook me awake, and I'm sure it'll do the same for some others out there. The stories The Man Child, Sonny's Blues, Come Out the Wilderness, and Going to Meet the Man had the biggest impact on me. Personally at least. If you appreciate any of his other fiction I would say this is a good one to pick up.