false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169160107m/38463.jpg 38463 20 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 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. 1413005 1974 If Beale Street Could Talk total:769|5:269|4:304|3:168|2:23|1:5| 769 3116 1020 69 5 3 false false Wed Jan 23 21:03:10 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 05 20:03:37 -0800 2008 5 2 false false Fri Feb 15 15:38:38 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 09 12:45:44 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 09 13:03:31 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 11 00:39:02 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 11 17:03:34 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Feb 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 14:08:07 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 11:47:40 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Feb 14 08:55:32 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 09:22:48 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 08:55:32 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Nov 06 06:02:17 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 06:13:56 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Sep 24 13:51:50 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 24 20:46:54 -0700 2009
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...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jun 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 16:46:19 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 19 12:52:42 -0700 2009 tender love story, that brings to mind the phrase, "the rose that grew from concrete". I was not expecting that. Set in the 70's in New York City, two young black people, powerless to a horrible system, painfully aware of their poverty...more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Mar 31 14:28:48 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 12:14:23 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 31 14:28:48 -0700 2009 Oh boy, what do you say when a good writer goes BAD? I know James Baldwin has the talent, but this book I couldn't even FINISH it seemed so stereotypically 70's and what passed for enlightened Afrocentric consciousness at the time though to me now it just read as trite.

This book re...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Oct 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 06 06:51:20 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 15 15:27:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false true Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 14 08:48:03 -0700 2008 Thu Apr 24 06:20:49 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Nov 13 15:20:20 -0800 2007 Tue Nov 13 15:27:26 -0800 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri May 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 13 12:58:25 -0700 2008 Fri May 16 09:26:35 -0700 2008 The story dealt with Fonny and Tish, 2 young African-Americans in early 70's New York, who are in love, but separated when ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Nov 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 08 18:17:30 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 19:00:46 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jun 03 20:35:33 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 20:38:27 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Oct 13 12:55:07 -0700 2007 Sun Dec 23 18:43:05 -0800 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Sep 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 28 14:54:02 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 04 07:22:58 -0700 2008 If Beale Street Could Talk accomplishes what most modern fiction aims to do, but falls short of executing. Baldwin’s use of voice is not only believable, but familiar, internal. Baldwin never abandons clarity for flourish; the language is plain, accessible, yet emotive and contemplative. A mas...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Feb 09 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 06:52:12 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 06:54:47 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Wed Apr 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 17 13:13:17 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 22 11:51:38 -0700 2009
its about what family means in the midst of being poor and black in nyc and supporting a young man wrongly sent to prison.]]> 0 0 false false Wed Jul 01 09:52:26 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 01 09:53:29 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=38463