If Beale Street Could Talk
From one of the most important writers of the twentieth century comes a stunning love story about a young Black woman whose life is torn apart when her lover is wrongly accused of a crime--"a moving, painful story, so vividly human and so obviously based on reality that it strikes us as timeless" (The New York Times Book Review).
"One of the best books Baldwin has ever written--perhaps the best of all." --The Philadelphia Inquirer 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.
"One of the best books Baldwin has ever written--perhaps the best of all." --The Philadelphia Inquirer 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.
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Community Reviews
The ending left me furious and waiting for more. All in all this book is superb, definitely very skillfully composed especially the cliff hanger.
The Writer James Baldwin published his novel entitled If Beale Street Could Talk in 1974. The main character of If Beale Street Could Talk is Clementine, who the other characters call Tish (3). Tish Rivers, who is 19 years old, is pregnant with the baby of her boyfriend, Alonzo Hunt (3). The characters of If Beale Street Could Talk call Alonzo, Fonny. Fonny is 22 years (5). Fonny wants to be a sculptor (35). Fonny is falsely accused of raping a Puerto Rican-born woman in New York City, so Fonny is in jail waiting for his criminal trial (91-92). Tish and her family, the Rivers, feel that Fonny is part of their family, and they are trying to get Fonny out of the American criminal justice system in New York State. Tish’s mother, Sharon, even goes to Puerto Rico in a quest to get Fonny out of jail. I noticed some similarities between Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk and Go Tell It on the Mountain, such as both novels have characters that are followers of Pentecostalism. Both novels involve colorism. Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk is an interesting novel about young adult romance and pregnancy for an African American couple which is interrupted by the American criminal justice system.
Work Cited:
Baldwin, James. 2001. Go Tell It on the Mountain. New York: Penguin.
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