You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

A review by luckyonesoph
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

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

0.5

I realize that this book is a masterful portrayal of how violent the criminal justice system was towards Black men in America, but Baldwin's blatant misogyny completely ruined it for me. I have zero patience for a book that sympathizes with a rapist, or for an author that so deeply and so obviously sees women as subhuman. The part where Tish's mom travels to Puerto Rico to harass a woman who was a victim of both rape *and* the United States' immigration policy into returning to the US to recant her testimony is unfathomably cruel, and just one of many scenes where violence against women  and rape are treated not as hate crimes or injustices, but as acceptable facts of life. Baldwin is a brilliant writer, but there is no redeeming this. 


Expand filter menu Content Warnings