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purplemuskogee 's review for:
Going to Meet the Man
by James Baldwin
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A beautiful but uneven collection of short stories. Racism is of course a big theme, and the eponymous story, the last one, is gruesome as the main character, a white sheriff, is sexually aroused when he remembers Black men being tortured and killed. The other stories vary, the first two (the oldest ones in the collection) are about children and their parents' church community, I found them difficult to get interested in. My favourite ones were Previous Condition - a Black man sublets from a Jewish friend and is evicted by his white landlady; and Sonny's Blues, about two estranged brothers meeting again after their mother's death and the death of a child.
The writing is beautiful, fluid and straightforward.
Free copy sent by Netgalley, the book was originally published in 1965.
The writing is beautiful, fluid and straightforward.
Free copy sent by Netgalley, the book was originally published in 1965.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture