Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - If Beale Street Could Talk

"The poor are always crossing the Sahara. And the lawyers and bondsmen and all that crowd circle around the poor, exactly like vultures. Of course, they're not any richer than the poor, really, that's why they've turned into vultures, scavengers, indecent garbage men." (15)

"...he looks at the others, he listens: what have they done? Not much. To do much is to have the power to place these people where they are, and keep them where they are. These captive men are the hidden price for a hidden lie: the righteous must be able to locate the damned." (274)

This story brings such a vulnerable, universal, human quality to one of the coldest, most insensitive elements of American culture that it strikes a nerve unreached by other authors. I loved his precise blending of romance and commentary on race, police brutality, family dynamics and gender roles.

4 stars bc I really wanted more Baldwin prose mixed in with all the plot.

Content Warnings

moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition

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emotional reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.75

An incredible book! He weaves back and forth through time as he tells this story. It is so beautifully written and has so much excellent social commentary.

I will say, definitely take the SA content warning seriously. If you want specifics, it is a bit spoiler-ey:

The thing that stood out to me was the fact that the survivor was confronted and not in a delicate way. There was no victim-blaming or saying that she was lying about it happening, however she is confronted becuase she chose the wrong person in the line-up (assumably) after being manipulated. While they do take some care in how she is confronted, it still is not great. While I do think there is a reason the author chose to have the story play out like that, it seemed like something that could be potentially quite triggering.

Content Warnings