Name: If Beale Street Could Talk
Rating: 4.405172413793103 (174 reviews)
ISBN: 9780307275936

James Baldwin

When a pregnant Tish's boyfriend Fonny, a sculptor, is wrongfully jailed for the rape of a Puerto Rican woman, their families unite to prove the charge false. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.

A Novel

If Beale Street Could Talk

EDEN!!!!!

“My father’s chest shook with laughter, I felt his chest rising and falling between my shoulder blades, and this laughter contained a furious joy, an unspeakable relief: in spite of all that hung above our heads. I was his daughter, all right: I had found someone to love and I was loved and he was released and verified. That child in my belly was also, after all, his child, too, for there would have been no Tish if there had been no Joseph. Our laughter in that kitchen, then, was our helpless response to a miracle. That baby was our baby, it was on its way, my father’s great hand on my belly held it and warmed it: in spite of all that hung about our heads, that child was promised safety. Love had sent it, spinning out of us, to us. Where that might take us, no one knew: but now, my father, Joe, was ready. In a deadlier and more profound way than his daughters were, this child was the seed of his loins. And no knife could cut him off from life until that child was born.”

Sarah Sammis

I remember liking it but most of the details are fuzzy now.

britt

Lizelle G

Speechless. Baldwin's perfectly blends love and hardship, poetry and social critique, color and feeling.

amarachi

Stunning. Powerful. Delicate. Breathtaking.

aisha

james baldwin put the feeling of love, sorrow, anger, all of it into words. i’m a puddle of tears.

"Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncerain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions -- affection, despair, and hope."--Page 4 of cover

Satya Nelms

No thoughts I have tried to gather about this book feel like they do it justice. You must read it for yourself and feel it for yourself.

Dweedle 

So, so good. The second James Baldwin book I read in as many weeks. I thought about this book for days after.

Trever

3.5. I had to read this for a class, and I think the fact that I didn't care for the class and the professor may have colored how I enjoyed this book. Baldwin does convey the emotions of the characters well, and by extension demonstrates very lucidly how systemic racism affects people very personally. Still, at points it felt a bit heavy-handed, or rather, Baldwin's "point" felt a bit more transparent that would be ideal. Ultimately it's well-crafted, but there's just something about it that left me a bit colder than I'd hoped.

Charlotte Jones

This was my first time reading Baldwin, and it not only reminded me why I enjoy classics so much, but also there are thousands of others that I haven't gotten my grubby little hands on yet. Classics challenge me, in the best possible ways: intellectually and emotionally. This is grim, distressing, and above all else, a reminder.

In this honest and stunning novel that inspired the award-winning major motion picture of the same name, James Baldwin has given America a moving story of love in the face of injustice. "A major work of Black American fiction." –The New Republic 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 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.

Jeff Brown 

The most relevant book I've read recently is Jacqueline Woodson's Red to the Bone. The latter was a more fluid read, even with the multi-generational presentation.

But "Beale Street" was more raw. More real-life. And I wish there was a Part Two to Tish and Fonny's story. A great book (and I hope the movie is as good). More James Baldwin has been added to my ever-growing list of authors.

James Arthur Baldwin

Wilhelmus Maria Verhoeven

Een zwarte jongen in Harlem wordt gearresteerd wegens verkrachting, maar lijkt weinig kans te hebben op een eerlijke procesgang.

Maxime van der Wal

This was my first introduction to James Baldwin, and I was captivated from the first page on. Baldwin's prose is not only stunning, but also feels effortless.  If Beale Street Could Talk  is unapologetically black in its most pure and brutal form: exploring themes of systematic racism, anti-Blackness and mass incarceration, but also strong familial relationships, empathy and passionate, all-encompassing love. All of this is done in a sober, sometimes harsh way (especially to the white eye), and that's exactly why I love it. There's no beating around the bush - Baldwin tells it how it is, and in the case of Black Americans - especially in the 70s - it isn't pretty. Voices such as Baldwin's are essential in literature, whether his stories serve as a source of relatability or confrontation.

If Beale Street Could Talk A Novel

Reviews

Highlights