Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

44 reviews

fictionalfrank's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Police brutality, Misogyny, Racism, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, and Rape

eve81's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Antisemitism

carly25's review

adventurous challenging funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A story about black America that’s not written for a white audience or the “white gaze”. I liked the way the narrator talks about people sometimes by name as though they’re strangers and other times by their familial relation. It kept an interesting distance although she was a protagonist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Rape

haileyeh's review

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Alcoholism, Cursing, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Rape, Suicide, and Domestic abuse

sarabrogan's review

emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Confinement, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Sexual content, Rape, and Racism

Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Violence, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage

brianareads's review

emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Racism

mattyvreads's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Gorgeously written and utterly haunting. One of the best books I have ever read, period. 

It’s a not-so-far-fetched fiction which is unfortunately, equally relevant today. It is so much more than a love story, although few succeed in painting as clear and honest a picture of humanity as Baldwin.

It’s hard to write a review for this book because words fail to describe it’s poignance and import. Absolutely everyone should read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Suicide

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Violence, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, and Homophobia

mpaterson's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A beautiful and poignant prose that offers a brief window into the lives of two interconnected families and explores the interconnection of racism and sexism in 60s NYC. It’s tender in moments and tense in others, sometimes both simultaneously. Both nothing and so much happens throughout the book. Love, in all its forms - unconditional and unhealthy, and emotion carries the story with ease and depth. 

If you’re looking for a beautifully melancholy, yet even hopeful of a story, this is it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Violence, Sexism, Police brutality, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Classism

Minor: Drug use, Suicide, and Miscarriage

dnvrdnvr's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Homophobia and Rape

Minor: Antisemitism and Miscarriage

sophiaroesler's review

challenging emotional reflective

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Police brutality, Rape, Suicide, and Racism