Necessary Tales: A Review of James Baldwin's Early Novels & Stories

Early Novels & Stories: Go Tell It on the Mountain / Giovanni’s Room / Another Country / Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

James Baldwin is an author whose star has been on the rise once again in recent years as America continues to grapple with race, the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, and the hypocrisy that can be found within religious communities. In this collection of his earliest novels and short stories, Mr. Baldwin faces all of these issues head on, forcing the reader to grapple with the prejudice of their own country as well as their own.

This collection from the Library of America collects three of Mr. Baldwin’s earliest novels, Go Tell It on the Mountain, Giovanni’s Room, and Another Country.  It also includes Mr. Baldwin’s short story collection Going to Meet the Man.  Each of the novels deals some kind of hypocrisy.  At the heart of Go Tell It on the Mountain is the religious hypocrisy embodied Gabriel, who believes himself to be called to be God’s messengers but commits adultery and physically abuses his family.  Giovanni’s Room tells the story of a man who is engaged to be married to an American woman, but lives a double life in Paris with homosexual partner, Giovanni.  And finally, Another Country deals with infidelity, bisexuality, and interracial relationships.  Nearly all of these topics were incredibly taboo when first published and still have the power to shock even today.  

What I find absolutely fascinating about all of these books is that Mr. Baldwin doesn’t shy away from his subjects.  He looks all of them unflinchingly in the eye and forces the reader to do the same as well.  Everyone of these novels is a gripping read, though Another Country does seem to drag for a little too long, especially at the beginning.  The only exception would be the the short story collection Going to Meet the Man.  Like many short story collections, the stories can vary in quality.  The short story “The Man Child” was particularly head scratching.  The first two short stories “The Rockpile” and “The Outing” are interesting because they include the main characters from Go Tell It On the Mountain, but they don’t expand the themes or characters’ stories much beyond that first novel.  The best short story though is the last one, “Going to Meet the Man”, which shines a bright light on the horrors of lynching.  

These novels and short stories are not for the faint of heart, but they are necessary tales even today.  For anyone who is interested in James Baldwin’s novels, this is a great collection to read through.

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