Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

19 reviews

badspringbye's review against another edition

challenging tense slow-paced

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

2.0

not the coming-of-age story I was expecting it to be. it took a huge turn after john's hunting standpoint. gabriel (the father)'s life's a drag. john (the son)'s part, which was mostly only on the first 1/3 of the book, was frustrating yet gripping. that's the only thing that made me look forward to how it's gonna turn out at the end. the whole point of the story is a bit... out of shape..?

excerpt:
p. 20 "And this is why, though he had been born in the faith and had been surrounded all his life by the saints and by their prayers and their rejoicing, and though the tabernacle in which they worshipped was more completely real to him than the several precarious homes in which he and his family had lived, John's heart was hardened against the Lord. His father was God's minister, the ambassador of the King of Heaven, and John could not bow before the throne of grace without first kneeling to his father."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Religious bigotry

sofipitch's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.75

This book was amazing. The focus on how Christianity corrupts, how it can enable ppl to do cruelty or at least feel entitled to it. Or the way it can make ppl feel remorse over things that were good, like Elizabeth with Richard just bc she wasn't married to him doesn't mean he wasn't 3000x better a husband than Gabriel. Also John hating his narcissistic and arrogant and abusive father, def can't relate to that at all, wouldn't be me. (/s) The sermons read or just the way religious figures talked constantly had me gritting my teeth in anger, I think Baldwin really got to the core of what I dislike about Christianity while never fabricating anything or displaying it as more than it is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, and Racism

Minor: Suicide

rzh's review against another edition

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

caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition

challenging sad 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

Stunning. Intense. Powerful. Go Tell It on the Mountain is full of sin and sorrow and shame. If you grew up going to church (any church, not just Pentecostal) this book hits you hard. I can’t stop thinking about how the characters in this novel were supposed to be full of the love of the Lord but were so lacking in joy and forgiveness for their fellow human beings, even their brothers and sisters in the church. I’m going to need a minute to recover from this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Racism

Moderate: Physical abuse and Infidelity

Minor: Rape, Hate crime, and Death of parent

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

milliebrierley's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Suicide

the_casual_reader's review against another edition

dark 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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I know it deserves more than 4.5 stars, but it was so dense, depressing and challenging, that I can't compare the experience reading it to the other 5 star books. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Sexual violence

davyjones's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Infidelity, and Infertility

afriske's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Rape