A review by thoseoldcrows23
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

It's startling to see how very contemporary this book feels even though it came out over 50 years ago. There were many moments that felt like a sucker punch to the gut. Baldwin is a beautiful writer, and he approaches the issue of race with a level head and a mind towards empathy. I was also surprised by how easy this was to read. The language is very elevated, but it at no point felt inaccessible to me. I'm definitely interested in reading some of his fiction now, and I would recommend everyone (but especially every American) read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Slavery, and Violence

There's not a lot of detailed description of horrible things in here, but this book is about race in the time of the civil rights movement, so expect all the usual suspects of that era to be addressed.