James Baldwin

Leo Proudhammer, an African American actor, reminisces about his past life and loves, while lying in the hospital, recovering from a heart attack

A Novel

Tell Me how Long the Train's Been Gone

'Everyone wishes to be loved, but in the event, nearly no one can bear it' At the height of his theatrical career, the actor Leo Proudhammer is nearly felled by a heart attack. As he hovers between life and death, we see the choices that have made him enviably famous and terrifyingly vulnerable. For between Leo's childhood on the streets of Harlem and his arrival into the world of the theatre lies a wilderness of desire and loss, shame and rage. And everywhere there is the anguish of being black in a society that seems poised on the brink of racial war. In this tender, angry 1968 novel, James Baldwin created one of his most striking characters: a man struggling to become himself.

Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone

Taira Robles

Some moments in a life, and they needn't be very long or seem very important, can make up for so much in that life; can redeem, justify, that pain, that bewilderment, with which one lives, and invest one with the courage not only to endure it, but to profit from it; some moments teach one the price of the human connection: if one can live with one's own pain, then one respects the pain of others, and so, briefly, but transcendentally, we can release each other from pain. 

First James Baldwin novel and I am in awe… he is such a talented man and the prose was so so beautiful.

Baldwin writes very earnestly about race and systemic racism - unfortunately still very much relevant today.

What stood out to me was the main character’s (an actor) preoccupation with performance and identity and his need for this performance / identity to be observed and legitimised… very Butlerian methinks

First James Baldwin novel and I am in awe… he is such a talented man and the prose was so so beautiful.

Baldwin writes very earnestly about race and systemic racism - unfortunately still very much relevant today.

What stood out to me was the main character’s (an actor) preoccupation with performance and identity and his need for this performance / identity to be observed and legitimised… very Butlerian methinks

Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone is the third book I’ve read from James Baldwin, one of the most prolific and moving writers of the 20th century and definitely a favorite of mine. His work here captures the careful chaos of reliving your personal history after a near-death experience—regret, longing, the proud realization of having lived through all of that.

James Baldwin is an expert at being human; he just gets it. His literature describes inter and intra-personal relationships like nothing else. Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone, for one, takes you deep into the mind of Leo Proudhammer as he recalls a life filled with bleak realities before finally establishing himself as a famous theatre actor. This book explores racism, interracial relationships, and sexuality in Baldwin’s beautifully provocative brand of storytelling.

This is the longest of James Baldwin’s works I’ve read so far, and I found the non-linear structure almost ambiguous and dreamy; my thoughts were all over the place but the book was hard to put down.

y✦

Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone is the third book I’ve read from James Baldwin, one of the most prolific and moving writers of the 20th century and definitely a favorite of mine. His work here captures the careful chaos of reliving your personal history after a near-death experience—regret, longing, the proud realization of having lived through all of that.

James Baldwin is an expert at being human; he just gets it. His literature describes inter and intra-personal relationships like nothing else. Tell Me How Long the Train’s Been Gone, for one, takes you deep into the mind of Leo Proudhammer as he recalls a life filled with bleak realities before finally establishing himself as a famous theatre actor. This book explores racism, interracial relationships, and sexuality in Baldwin’s beautifully provocative brand of storytelling.

This is the longest of James Baldwin’s works I’ve read so far, and I found the non-linear structure almost ambiguous and dreamy; my thoughts were all over the place but the book was hard to put down.

In this tender, impassioned fourth novel, James Baldwin created one of his most striking characters: a man struggling to become himself. 'Everyone wishes to be loved, but in the event, nearly no one can bear it' At the height of his theatrical career, the actor Leo Proudhammer is nearly felled by a heart attack. As he hovers between life and death, we see the choices that have made him enviably famous and terrifyingly vulnerable. For between Leo's childhood on the streets of Harlem and his arrival into the world of the theatre lies a wilderness of desire and loss, shame and rage. And everywhere there is the anguish of being black in a society that seems poised on the brink of racial war. In this tender, angry 1968 novel, James Baldwin created one of his most striking characters: a man struggling to become himself. 'The emotion surrounding family attachment... is deeply felt and is one reasons he continues to be read with such intensity' Colm Tóibín

fynn

after reading james baldwin i always feel like i know myself a little bit more than i did before

Oskar

This might very well be my favourite Baldwin novel. It writes earnestly about race but also about love, with all the hardships that bring. Baldwin succeeded in making me care deeply for Leo, the protagonist. As for the prose, it never left me wanting for more.

“Everyone wishes to be loved, but in the event, nearly no one can bear it. Everyone desires love but also finds it impossible to believe that he deserves it.”

Tell Me how Long the Train's Been Gone A Novel

Reviews

Highlights