Reviews

People don't have any mercy. They tear you limb from limb, in the name of love. Then, when you're dead, when they've killed you by what they made you go through, they say you didn't have any character. They weep big, bitter tears - not for you. For themselves, because they've lost their toy.

So what can we really do for each other except — just love each other and be each other's witness? And haven't we got the right to hope — for more? So that we can really stretch into whoever we really are?

It doesn't do any good to blame people or the time — one is oneself all those people.
We are the time.

The trouble with a secret life is that it is very frequently a secret from the person who lives it and not at all a secret for the people he encounters. He encounters, because he must encounter, those people who see his secrecy before they see anything else, and who drag these secrets out of him; sometimes with the intention of using them against him, sometimes with more benevolent intent; but, whatever the intent, the moment is awful and the accumulating revelation is an unspeakable anguish. The aim of the dreamer, after all, is merely to go on dreaming and not to be molested by the world. His dreams are his protection against the world. But the aims of life are antithetical to those of the dreamer, and the teeth of the world are sharp.

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lacey_largey's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

3.0

jamie_risner's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

alcyrii's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-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

4.5

musicsaves's review against another edition

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5.0

FIRST LINE REVIEW: "He was facing Seventh Avenue, at Times Square." As have I, many times. I've also felt like I've faced many of the emotional journeys that Baldwin's brilliantly rich and deeply troubled characters have experienced. That's because he so insightfully strips away the public masks they wear to reveal, finally, their core essence. It's painful, so don't try traveling to this country unless you're willing to be presented with a brutally honest portrayal of the layered humanity that we often try and pretend doesn't exist. It does and Baldwin makes sure that we see and try to understand it.

thayawar's review against another edition

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4.0

Uhhhh this was sad:( what a messy friendship group:( Baldwin writes so introspectively and stunningly about the many forms of love, the many pains of love, and the beautiful messiness of love

mihu_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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