Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

50 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

annamariesreads's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is not an easy read, but a worthwhile read.
I only wish I could've read it in 1974, when it came out because it has so much to say about the cultural context of that era.
This book shows us black love in every possible way- between two lovers, between family and between mother and unborn child. Despite the adversity, Tish is always looking for the positive that will come in the end. Even when all the lights are out.
Every character is interesting and necessary to the story.
James Baldwin has got to be one of my favourite authors, I could read his prose all day. 
No spoilers here but please check the trigger warnings I put on this review before reading. Description is not graphic but they are mentioned often and frequently.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Pregnancy

Moderate: Rape, Sexual harassment, and Suicide

tlaynejones's review against another edition

fast-paced

4.0

This is my first of Baldwin’s books, and it is easy to see why his work stand as modern classics. For the most part I thought this was a compelling and engaging novel. The sense of time, the love between Fonny and Tish, the examination of racist and unjust ’justice’ system were all very well done. I was however really dissatisfied and frustrated with the layers of sexism and misogyny that permeate every aspect of the writing. It will forever challenge me to understand how the ‘great thinkers’ who have worked so hard to shine a light of the reality of prejudice, power dynamics, systemic injustice, and biased social assumptions - in relationship to race - can be so blind to how all of these impact and influence gender as well. I’m glad to have read this, so I have the cultural knowledge, but it leaves me wanting to go back and reread An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, to reexperience and to compare a novel that examines some of the same social injustices, but from the perspective of a contemporary woman. 
Very cautiously recommended, check CW 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Police brutality

aishallnot's review

challenging emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Rape

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Miscarriage and Suicide

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

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

cirrenamarie's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Suicide

mookiana's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

An engrossing read that tugs you between love and fear for the characters trapped within the clutches of the racist US carceral system and struggling to get out, literally and figuratively.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pregnancy, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide and Police brutality

Minor: Miscarriage

ariparip's review

challenging medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Rape, and Sexual content

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