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greeds_little_dolls's review
I realized it was too long and the format of the pages was unhelpful for me since I prefer less text per page with a bigger book. I prefer thick books with good formatting.
talapowis's review
4.0
Still working on this book (dnf) — Baldwin is thoughtful and a brilliant writer and is still very relevant today. This collection is dense, though I struggle with shorts anyways. I was disappointed to see that On Being White and Other Lies was not included (one of my favorites). Will return to it in the future!
ericawrites's review
5.0
What am I supposed to write here? Baldwin continues to be one of the most relevant writers on America and its people. And we should all wish to look at his writing as outdated or the way it used to be. (Yes, he was not without his faults, being human and all.)
It's a gift to read a body of work over an artist's entire lifetime. There was something in every single essay that zapped me in my bones. What a treasure.
It feels so weird to be "finished" with this collection, even if I know I'll revisit many of these essays.
It's a gift to read a body of work over an artist's entire lifetime. There was something in every single essay that zapped me in my bones. What a treasure.
It feels so weird to be "finished" with this collection, even if I know I'll revisit many of these essays.
lilsoliver's review
5.0
“Freaks are called freaks and are treated as they are treated—in the main, abominably—because they are human beings who cause to echo, deep within us, our most profound terrors and desires.”
whitneyce's review
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
I’ve been reading this bit by bit for months. Now that I’ve finished it I’m honestly a bit bereft. What an incredible writer and thinker and person James Baldwin was, we are so lucky to have shared the world with him & his work. The man simply did not miss! His craft was impeccable, his observations were always keen and piercing, his voice was so distinctive. I can’t wait to read all his fiction now
thebrodyssey's review
5.0
This book commands your attention. I struggled to get through it when reading a couple pages before bed or on the train every day, but when I sat down and dedicated time to it the pages flew by. I can see why it's so heavily cited in modern literature.
renee_pompeii's review
5.0
This needs to live on your home bookshelf so you can revisit the works over and over.
dgsimonds's review
5.0
James Baldwin’s writings here and in “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” helped pull my soul up from where it had settled in my feet and made it possible for me to move again, maybe truly for the first time in my life.
I grew up in a religion that proclaimed prophets, seers, revelators who could pierce your soul and cut you to your very core with their words- I never experienced that until I read Baldwin and it has been an ongoing revelation I hope continues as I dive into more of his work.
I grew up in a religion that proclaimed prophets, seers, revelators who could pierce your soul and cut you to your very core with their words- I never experienced that until I read Baldwin and it has been an ongoing revelation I hope continues as I dive into more of his work.