From the Bookshelf of Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

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What Members Thought

Maeve
Apr 13, 2015 rated it liked it
Shelves: 1001-book
This book seemed to be a meditation on religion and sexual impropriety... and as is unfortunate both at the time of its writing and still today many people prefer the appearance of being good to actually being good.
hh
Mar 25, 2014 rated it it was amazing
one of the only books that makes me wish i knew the bible better. i hadn't read this for a little over a decade, but i ought to revisit it more frequently. baldwin is just a master of everything: dialogue, pacing, character. he does a whole whole lot with a great economy and takes enormous risks all the while. ...more
Kecia
Aug 03, 2011 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: times_100_best, usa
Reading James Baldwin made me think of Toni Morrison. They both write about deep, insidious pain.

In this novel Baldwin writes about sorrow. Sorrow as a result of rage. He writes about a rage that simmers as a result of sorrow. It is a vicious circle. His characters talk the talk of righteousness but they don't walk the walk. In the face of injustice they cling to their relegion in a fanatical manner. At least in the relegious context they shout and purge some of the rage.

I could only read this
...more
Becca Becca
Jun 13, 2007 rated it liked it
Marla
Mar 29, 2008 rated it it was amazing
Nikita T. Mitchell
Nov 05, 2009 marked it as to-read
Sarah
Dec 12, 2009 rated it it was ok
Lindsay
Apr 12, 2010 rated it it was amazing
Stacie
Jun 01, 2010 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: i-own, jc-reading
Terri FL
Sep 20, 2010 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: own
Steven
Jul 04, 2011 rated it really liked it
Shelves: 1001, race
Arianna
Nov 20, 2021 rated it really liked it
Jim Zubricky
Dec 18, 2011 marked it as to-read
Jayme Pendergraft
Jun 26, 2012 marked it as to-read
nawir nawir
Jun 05, 2013 marked it as to-read
Robin
May 04, 2014 marked it as to-read
Rachel
Feb 28, 2015 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: classics, fiction
Lynecia
Dec 07, 2015 marked it as to-read
Shelves: unread-books
Shaundrika
Mar 03, 2016 marked it as to-read
Sonja
Aug 25, 2016 marked it as to-read
Carly
Mar 02, 2017 marked it as to-read
Sara
Dec 19, 2017 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
laurie
Aug 12, 2018 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: read-in-2018
Kristen Iworsky
Aug 29, 2018 marked it as to-read
Elizabeth
Feb 02, 2019 marked it as to-read
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Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die