Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

11 reviews

genstrong's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Racism, Misogyny, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, and Sexism

Minor: Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Suicide, Hate crime, and Slavery

ohgull's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I read this book for my Multicultural Lit class. It was an interesting read, definitely not something I would pick out for myself, but I'm glad I read it. I liked the main protagonist John and seeing his character growth, but it felt a little stifled. The second half of this book was basically just exposition on how the Grimes family ended up like this and why the characters are the way they are. I don't know, it had good material in it, specifically talking about religion and race, but I wish there was more plot in the present and not all of the action happening 20 years before the novel begins. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death, Violence, and Police brutality

Minor: Rape, Pregnancy, Infertility, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, and Suicide

catwhisperer's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Grief, Racism, Cursing, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

francisthethird's review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault, Racism, Self harm, Grief, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Rape

castawaycove's review

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

i actually can’t even begin to articulate how good this was. my favourite part was elizabeth’s prayer and the ending???? i don’t even know how to feel

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Racial slurs, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicide

grantsharpies's review

dark reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Grief, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Death, Hate crime, Infidelity, and Religious bigotry

lynxpardinus's review

challenging emotional reflective

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Death, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Racism, Child abuse, Violence, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Slavery, Rape, Alcohol, Sexual content, Self harm, Suicide, Grief, Police brutality, Confinement, Hate crime, Death of parent, and Blood

Minor: Vomit and War

rzh's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

again, i just LOVE james baldwin and he never lets me down. beautiful beautiful prose, really evocative and beautifully shapped characters, all with their own individual struggles and stories. i loved how it told the tales of the parents generations and treated them as the flawed young people they were: sometimes a difficult thing to do with older generations. i would maybe mark it down just a tad for being a bit slower paced than the other baldwin books i’ve read and maybe a little harder to follow with the abstract poetics of it but still loved it nonetheless. 4.25 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Hate crime

Moderate: Gun violence and Rape

aloy's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Infertility, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Child abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny

Minor: Racism and Slavery

anniefwrites's review against another edition

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

This was my first James Baldwin, and WOW. Moving plot, language that sucks you right in, vivid interior worlds of all the characters. What a magnificent writer. I especially loved the parts where I got to live inside the mind of such a tender, confused, emotional boy. The way the story concluded wasn’t what I expected, and it’s going to be a while until I can unravel my complex feelings about it. But all in all, Baldwin has such a strong yet delicate voice, and I’m looking forward to reading more of his work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Suicide, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Rape

Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Infertility, Pregnancy, Vomit, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Police brutality, and War