Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

25 reviews

annamariesreads's review

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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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mauricekofi's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is my first Baldwin book, and now I understand why he's one of the greatest authors of time. The sorrow I feel from the story he creates is sobering, a reminder that the romance of people of color differs so far from what white people may imagine. His call out to Romeo and Juliet represents how this a tragedy like none other, not one of faults of the characters themselves, but from the evil and darkness that is America, the way it murders and cannibalizes it's citizens so it can call itself "great"
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aishallnot's review

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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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haileyeh's review

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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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rosiecotton_dancing's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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meroei's review

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

2.5

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_yllohm_24's review

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

3.5

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mpaterson's review

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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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biblioghoul's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad medium-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

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belladonnashrike's review

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I feel like I know tish…the entire book, it’s like she was telling me the story of her, fonny, & the baby.  

I love how baldwin writes about love. + the commentary on our racist prison system is quite obvious, but I liked the more subtle nods to the concept of “doing time” / “time” as their baby grows and their family changes throughout the book. it was beautifully done. 

barry jenkins did a wonderful job with the film adaptation! 
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