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Classic Literature. Fiction. Literature. In this honest and stunning novel, James Baldwin has given America a moving story of love in the face of injustice. Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin's story mixes the sweet and the sad.Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and is imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions-affection, despair, and hope.In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche.… (more)
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Oh, but it can be. Seriously. And to prove my point let me tell you about two short novels by James Baldwin I have read lately: If Beale Street Could Talk (1974) and Giovanni’s Room
The title of Beale Street is a bit misleading: the novel is definitely not about one particular street but rather about the world of Harlem, or probably even more.
After taking stock of the main ingredients we might just shake our heads: no, no, no! What clichés! What stereotypical characters! What boring schemes! The inhuman, wicked (and what’s more: albino!) policeman; the quasi altruist priests (who do not shy away from a little bit of stealing either – but that’s OK as the greatest classics in literature have already “legalized” stealing for the poor’s sake); a loving couple whose love is of course based on devotion and trust, unconditional belief in each other; the conformity of an overly ambitious family that is ready to sacrifice its most appealing member, the innocently accused son; and so on and so forth.
But not so fast. Baldwin was one of the greatest writers of our times (died in 1987), and we realize once again the truth in what I mentioned not a long ago about Cervantes: the subject matter is really secondary; the most important factor of a great work is the talent that creates something outstanding in the end from an otherwise trite stuff.
This Romeo & Juliet story is presented with a very passionate, moving writing style and with totally credible psychological and sociological insights. The seemingly stereotypical characters and situations are nicely balanced by other features and figures, like the protagonist’s lonely sister with her rich and pretty assertive personality, Baldwin’s sympathy for the mother who escapes into bigotry and social pretense (an otherwise typical negative character), or the lawyer who is pretty indifferent and solicitous at first but then gets very keen about “doing the right thing” (and endangering his career at the same time), etc. The construction of the novel also adds to its greatness: Baldwin cleverly feeds the story’s antecedents and context bit by bit and it surely makes us want to read on and on.
And the result? This initially (and seemingly) not too exciting and ambitious novel gradually becomes a truly magnificent work of art in the hand of an outstanding writer.
(I am planning to write about Giovanni’s Room next week.)
Heartbreak hangs on this one from the very second page. That's when we find out that Fonny, the man Tish loves, is in jail. And Baldwin gives us this: "I hope that nobody has ever had to look at anybody they love through glass."
But this book is about more than heartbreak. It's an indictment of racism and the prison/policing/bail system. But fundamentally it is a story of love and hope and family and perseverance in the face of unjust systems. It's a profound reminder that the world has long been messed up, but that it is better to be brave and love fiercely than to fold yourself into self-righteous contempt.
An amazing read.
In the early 21st century, this story has become familiar enough. Tish, the young, Black first-person narrator, is pregnant with the child of her lifelong love, Fonny, who has been unjustly imprisoned for the rape of a Puerto Rican woman. As Tish and her family band together to free Fonny, institutionalized racism, economic inequality, and social oppression (not to mention members of Fonny’s own family) conspire to keep the young lovers apart.
Baldwin’s prose is by turns lyrical, minimalist, imagistic, and brutally violent. He orchestrates his diction with sublime precision; therefore, I must presume that there is some artistic justification for having Tish narrate scenes (such as Fonny’s private conversations with his friend Daniel, Fonny’s experiences in prison, and her mother’s ordeal in Puerto Rico as she attempts to track down the rape victim) that she could not have possibly witnessed. That stylistic quibble aside, I cannot recall another book this brief (fewer than 200 pages) that permeates with such intensity and insight.
The only major question mark is Frank's suicide ending the book: he simply would not have done this to his jailed son,
knowing that the news could kill or destroy him.
I loved James Baldwin’s writing, which was scathing in its indictment of the societal forces acting on Tish and Fonny, and at the same time, gentle and loving in its depiction of their relationship. Baldwin is also unconventional in his storytelling, ending this novel in a way that is far from cut and dry. I highly recommend this novel.
Nineteen year old Clementine breaks the news to her incarcerated twenty-two year old boyfriend she is pregnant. Then she has to tell Lonny's family and her own. What follows is a typical commentary on out-of-wedlock teenage pregnancy when one parent is in jail. Of
This is a stark portrayal of what it means to be black and poor in New York City. What we discover about Lonny is that he has been accused of rape by a woman who picks him out of a lineup. It's an open and shut case thanks to a cop who has it in for the oft-in-trouble teen. Clementine's mother is the most heroic, amazing character in the whole book.
Part Two: Zion
Questions. Will Fonny and Clementine's families raise enough money for bail? Will Fonny survive prison? What are his chances of receiving a fair trial in such an unfair society? What is to come of his unborn child?
Yeah I used all caps. This book deserves them. Also I am not as good a writer as Baldwin, and so I have to resort to typography to make some points, while he uses expert word choice and pinpoint metaphor to make everything real and close to home. Even when describing how
And then there's the fact that this book was so eye-opening, and made me feel like a spoiled child living a life of luxury. But I don't mean that in a bad way. It was... motivating. Moving, and motivating.
Then Fonny stands up for himself against a white cop.
When the cop sees a way to pin a brutal rape on Fonny, he is arrested. At the cop’s urging the victim picks Fonny out of a photo lineup and then leaves the country.
No one believes the word of a black man.
Fonny’s arrest spins outward effecting his entire family. There is no way to raise the needed money for a competent lawyer without an illegal fiddle – and the family is further smashed.
The relationships are strong and true. There’s a lot of love in this novel, but there’s also a pit of the stomach feeling of doom.
Tish, a 19-year-old black girl, finds out she's pregnant. Her boyfriend Fonny is falsely accused and in jail, leaving Tish to try to keep his spirits up, fight for him to get justice, and nurture new life inside of her.
This spare novel packs a punch, all the more so because not much has changed in the forty-five years since its original printing. The overt racism in the city of New York, which we like to think of as diverse and modern, left me cringing and frustrated, as Tish's family navigates a legal system stacked against them. The system, more than an individual, is left as the bad guy, as we see Fonny's accuser also in a terrible situation. As Tish's mother says, "she's not lying." It was an uncomfortable reading experience, but the more I think about the story, the more I find it challenging and compelling. This is the first book I've read by James Baldwin and certainly won't be the last.
Alas, I often found myself drifting out while reading the story also.
I liked the characters and the insights Baldwin has, but the prose struck me as dated and a bit clunky, and I never quite believed the narrative voice was that of a woman.
I had never read Baldwin before, but the tone of his work seemed familiar. It sort of reminded me of some of the comics I read in the '70s and '80s with African American characters written by white men. I wonder if they read Baldwin as research?
Anyhow, this book is worth reading though, and I might seek out something else of Baldwin's to try in the future.
The
This dated novel is still worth reading, however, for Baldwin’s observations about police brutality, mass incarceration, and the power of a Black family’s love.
Tish is a 19 year old African-American woman
I haven't seen the recent movie that is based on this novel but I would like to.