My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have never read any of James Baldwin's works before, but there has been a recent renaissance in interest in this seminal American author thanks to documentaries such as I Am Not Your Negro or movies such as If Beale Street Could Talk based on his works. I was a little trepidatious about picking up the work of an author I had never read before, but I was not disappointed. This is an incredibly powerful story about sin and hypocrisy, religious strictures and religious freedom, dark pasts and bright futures and though it took me a few pages to come around to this book, once I was in I was enthralled.
Set in Harlem church and community in the mid-1930s, this book follows a day in the life of a teenage boy named John who lives under the strict rule of his religious and proud step-father, Gabriel. Accompanied by his mother, Elizabeth, and his step-aunt, Florence, to church. While the congregants are singing and preaching, the three adults reflect on their past in prayer while John begins to undergo a significant religious experience. The plot is not particularly complicated, though I was a little confused by whether or not John knew about his parentage or if he found out in the course of this story and I had to consult the book's SparkNotes to confirm that plot detail. What makes this book truly moving is the prose itself. The last part, John's religious conversion, is incredibly powerful and ties all the themes and plot threads from before beautifully. Normally, I would reserve some criticism, but I honestly can't think of any. Like I said, I was a little confused by one plot point and I think I was a little confused by what was going on in the first 30 pages, but that is due to the piecemeal way I started the book rather than to any fault of the author.
Whether you know of James Baldwin or not, this is a great work of 20th century literature that should not be missed. Even now, I am looking forward to what other James Baldwin books I should read next.
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