If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin
If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin
39 Rating(s)
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
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If Beale Street Could Talk
A Novel

Author: James Baldwin

Narrator: Bahni Turpin

Unabridged: 7 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/01/2016

Synopsis

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 InquirerIn 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 is 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.

About James Baldwin

James Baldwin (1924–1987), acclaimed New York Times bestselling author, was educated in New York. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, received excellent reviews and was immediately recognized as establishing a profound and permanent new voice in American letters. The appearance of The Fire Next Time in 1963, just as the civil rights movement was exploding across the American South, galvanized the nation and continues to reverberate as perhaps the most prophetic and defining statement ever written of the continuing costs of Americans’ refusal to face their own history. It became a national bestseller, and Baldwin was featured on the cover of Time. The next year, he was made a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters and collaborated with the photographer Richard Avedon on Nothing Personal, a series of portraits of America intended as a eulogy for the slain Medger Evers. His other collaborations include A Rap on Race with Margaret Mead and A Dialogue with the poet–activist Nikki Giovanni. He also adapted Alex Haley’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X into One Day When I Was Lost. He was made a commander of the French Legion of Honor a year before his death, one honor among many he achieved in his life.

About Bahni Turpin

Bahni Turpin has guest starred in many television series, including NYPD Blue, Law & Order, Six Feet Under, and Cold Case. Her film credits include Brokedown Palace and Crossroads. She has won numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and three prestigious Audie Awards.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Candi on March 09, 2019

4.5 stars "It’s a miracle to realize that somebody loves you." You might call this a love story, and you would be right. But this is a love story à la James Baldwin. And if you have read James Baldwin, then you will understand that this is a love story full of passion, yes, but also charged with torme......more

Goodreads review by Tim on April 26, 2023

REVISED Baldwin Beale Street Playlist Beale Street Blues by Nat King Cole This is Dedicated to the One I Love by The Shirelles +Mary, Mary, What you going to name that pretty little baby? Sung by Black Nativity Original Cast Troubled About My Soul by The Willing Four* Reflections by The Supremes Cleme......more

Goodreads review by emma on June 20, 2023

James Baldwin is, to me, an author who can do no wrong, except for this book which in many ways felt, was, and tended to be wrong. Don't get ME wrong - the discussion of the horrors of the criminal justice system is excellent. One of the best I've ever read on the subject. But nothing else - the famil......more

Goodreads review by Baba on May 24, 2023

Narrated mostly from 19 year old Tish's view, this contextually (written in the 1970s) stunning work tells the story of love in an arena of severe and overt social and racial injustice for Afro Americans in an urban America. Tish's sculptor lifelong friend and now boyfriend Fonny is brashly wrongly......more

Goodreads review by Carolyn Marie on February 10, 2024

I love it when I get to stare at this blank page, where I’m supposed to put my thoughts into words, and all I can think to say is… wow! This book is profound, heartbreaking, and masterfully told. James Baldwin writes in such a way that his stories and characters feel more real than fictional.......more

Quotes

“The author is best known for arguing that emotional connection could help heal America’s racial divides. But his 1974 novel If Beale Street Could Talk focused instead on the bonds that held black people together.”

Atlantic magazine

“A moving, painful story. It is so vividly human and so obviously based on reality that it strikes us as timeless.”

New York Times Book Review

Atlantic magazine

“A moving, painful story. It is so vividly human and so obviously based on reality that it strikes us as timeless.”

New York Times Book Review

“In his lesser-known 1974 novel If Beale Street Could Talk…insidious injustices are an inescapable part of everyday life—a truth the personal experience of which shaped Baldwin’s writing, propelling his evolution into a major voice for civil rights.”

Time

“Striking and particularly haunting…[with] a beauty, especially in its rendering of youthful passion.”

Cosmopolitan

“One of the best books Baldwin has ever written—perhaps the best of all.”

Philadelphia Inquirer

“A major work of black American fiction.”

New Republic

“Well worth listening to.”

Audible.com

“Existing perfectly as an essential work of its time and a timeless work of human truth and equally timeless American racism, Beale Street contains more compelling characters, more dynamic love of New York than you can find on any debut fiction shelf.”

Paris Review

“Emotional dynamite… a powerful assault upon the cynicism that seems today to drain our determination to confront deep social problems.”

Library Journal

“Possesses a genuinely sweet and free spirit.”

Kirkus Reviews

Awards

  • Publishers Weekly Pick
  • Paris Review Selection
  • Audible Editors Top Pick
  • Washington Post Best Book
  • iBooks bestseller
  • Essence Magazine Pick
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