If Beale Street Could Talk
Ratings77
Average rating4.4
Contains spoilers
I just want to start by saying that I appreciate this book's critique of the criminal justice system and police bias. That was not my issue with it at all. In fact, it's pretty much the only thing I did like.
Baldwin has some great turns of phrase here and there, but overall, I do not understand the popularity of this book. The characters are shallow, some to the point of being caricatures, and most of the few existing plot points are completely unbelievable. The book drags despite its short length. I usually enjoy books that are more character study than plot, but that only works if you actually flesh out your characters. I felt like I barely knew Tish by the end, even though the entire book is told from her perspective. The only character who actually feels like she has some substance is Sharon.
Some specific issues:
- Why, exactly, are we supposed to love the guy who abuses his wife?
- What the actual heck is this quote?
I think, in fact, that she was raped and that she has absolutely no idea who did it, would probably not even recognize him if he passed her on the street. I may sound crazy, but the mind works that way. She'd recognize him if he raped her again. But then it would no longer be rape. If you see what I mean.
- Pretty sure Baldwin never talked to anyone who has actually been pregnant in the course of writing this.
- The unnecessary sexual scenes (Specifically, the gratuitous masturbation scene and the disturbing sexual encounter told through the eyes of the couple's child. Just...why?)
- The depiction of Puerto Rico (or, as Baldwin likes to refer to it, the home of trash, garbage, refuse, and more garbage, where everyone looks like they're related but somehow not in a racist way)
- The super misogynistic opinions, gay slurs, and antisemitism. Obviously you can't hold an older book to the standard of the current day, but when I was already struggling to continue reading, these definitely didn't help.
- The abrupt ending
Some things I did like: the Spanish restaurant, getting to see more of Sharon's character during her portion of the story, the fact everyone believes Victoria is telling the truth about what had happened to her even if she is mistaken about Fonny's identity
All in all, I love Baldwin's essays, but this definitely should not have been my introduction to his fiction. Not every book can be an author's best, so I hope that the next one I try lives up to the hype.
If there was any justice in the world this book would be taught in every school in America. But of course there isn't any justice in the world. This book is about that and how families can love each other despite that, because of that.
Read this for school, didn't really care about the characters nor what happened to them, just wasn't connecting. And the ending pissed me off
This is James Baldwin's first work of fiction that I've read and I am wrecked. Not “ugly sobbing at 1am” wrecked, but a much deeper subconscious feeling. When I finished this last night, I had to stare at the ceiling for a little while. Tish and Fonny will stay with me for a long, long time. Part of me wishes this story was longer, but right now, I'm content with it being as long as it is.
If you're going to write a book like this, this is exactly the way to write it :(( ugh
4.5
Short Thoughts: I read this soon after finishing the book Rethinking Incarceration. I did not do it intentionally, but If Beale Street Could Talk is a perfect fictional followup to that non-fiction book on the criminal justice system. The issues of poverty, police misconduct, the broad powers of the district attorney's office on how to charge and how to bundle charges, the violence of the prisons themselves, the focus on retributive and not restorative justice, the enormous financial and emotional costs placed not just on the accused, but the extended networks and family of the accused and more are all here.
Baldwin is such an incredible writer. This is the third fiction book of Baldwin's I have read and the first that I have really liked. I appreciate Baldwin's skill with his other fiction, but I don't really like the characters. This is also the first book of his that I have read that has a female narrator and that is done very well.
This is a heavy story. One that I did not really want to pick up because I knew the rough story line. And one that I set down several times because of the weight, but it was well worth reading and the weight is based on truth, not sentimentality or falseness.
My longer thoughts are on my blog at http://bookwi.se/if-beale-street-could-talk/
Not an actual review but it irks me every time a man's penis is referred to as his ‘sex' lol
I might have Baldwin-fatigue, but I thought this was just ok. I have to say I don't think it's much compared to [b:Another Country 38474 Another Country James Baldwin https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1353255131s/38474.jpg 1427427], [b:Go Tell It on the Mountain 17143 Go Tell It on the Mountain James Baldwin https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348424233s/17143.jpg 1027995], or [b:Giovanni's Room 38462 Giovanni's Room James Baldwin https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501485157s/38462.jpg 814207] ... which is fine, because those are some damn hard-hitters. It's interesting because this almost feels like one of those novels some hugely successful author wrote before they found success with better, later works. This is the opposite, which makes sense somehow; Baldwin was nothing if not unconventional.