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A review by bluli
Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
informative
inspiring
reflective
I already tried to read this book a year ago and couldn't finish it. This time I once again struggled to get through it.
Most essays have an abstract and distant note to them and Baldwin often analyses media (novels, movies, magazines) that I don't know and he doesn't manage to make me care.
What I enjoyed were the essays that have a more personal note, where Baldwin either describes his own journey and experiences or those of others. They were powerful. So if you also see yourself struggling with this collection, I suggest you skip to the following essays:
Most essays have an abstract and distant note to them and Baldwin often analyses media (novels, movies, magazines) that I don't know and he doesn't manage to make me care.
What I enjoyed were the essays that have a more personal note, where Baldwin either describes his own journey and experiences or those of others. They were powerful. So if you also see yourself struggling with this collection, I suggest you skip to the following essays:
- Journey to Atlanta
- Notes of a Native Son
- Equal in Paris
I underlined two passages:
I am what time, circumstance, history have made of me, certainly, but I am, also, much more than that. So are we all. (p. XIV)
I imagine that one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, that they will be forced to deal with pain. (p. 103)