Reviews

Going to Meet the Man by James Baldwin

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historyofjess's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I have a lot of affection for James Baldwin's writing, but it was early on in this collection when I realize that it's the kind of book that I struggle a lot with. Basically, the tone, voice and setting of each story was so similar that I often found them all kind of bleeding together for me (this is definitely a "me" problem). They're also all quite grim stories, which makes it a bit of a rough read. Still, the one thing that stayed with me through a couple of the more impactful stories was Baldwin writing characters that were dealing with some internalized racism, as well as a creeping rage due to the racist behaviors they encountered in life.

a2lulu's review

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5.0

This description from the publisher definitely sums it up: “By turns haunting, heartbreaking, and horrifying--and informed throughout by Baldwin's uncanny knowledge of the wounds racism has left in both its victims and its perpetrators...”

annelives's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

James Baldwin might be the best writer I've ever read. His writing is compelling and his characters feel real. He's able to do so much in each story. The short story is an art form and a lot writers can't do it well, because honestly it's hard to make a fully fledged story with well developed characters in 50 pages or less. Every story pulled the reader in, even when the actual plot is kind of mundane. Seriously good writing. I highly recommend the collection.

The Rock Pile - the last line literally gave me chills. Even though the scene ends there the line perfectly encapsulates what’s going to happen even though intentions aren’t clearly stated.

The Outing - there's a whole lot going on in this short story. Grappling with religion and romantic attraction. That fear of knowing you might be different but you're not quite sure what it means. There's a hint of parental abuse as well. It honestly feels like a snapshot in time.

The Man Child - throughout the story there's this underlying tension between the adult characters and a child who is trying to make sense of what's going on around him. We're mostly in the child"s thoughts throughout which is especially horrifying towards the end. Like the atmosphere in this short story builds to where you know something is off and you're waiting in dread for something horrific to happen, but when it does finally happen you're still not quite ready.

Previous Condition - this short story is just so fucking sad because of how so little has actually changed. You feel the protagonist's anger, fear, and utter exhaustion as he tries to just exist in a world that makes it so difficul for black people to exist. I teared up multiple times at his desperation and an agony he couldn't adequately explain to his white Jewish friends, who could understand oppression and prejudice, but couldn't truly understand being black in America. How you can't hide from it and pass as white. How the system is suffocating and all around him. The isolation and loneliness reaches out from the page. It's heartbreaking.

Sonny's Blues - this is the first of the stories in here where I feel like there is some hope. Although I feel like it wouldn't quite fit with the rest of the stories if that hope wasn't ambiguous and fragile, like it could be taken away at anytime. The Man knows how to write. The complicated feelings and guilt between siblings and the effects addiction has on everyone. Also, the way he describes the jazz being performed at the end almost as a conversation and story is perfect.

This Morning, This Evening, So soon - Baldwin writes emotions and lived experiences so well. I love how love and family is portrayed in this short story. It's everything love and family should be, but realistically portrayed.

The exploration of black identity and how it compares to France and America while also exploring the tense relations between the Arabs and Frence was interesting. The complexity of the relationships between the protagonist who is a black American, who has found freedom in France, and a white Frenchman, and Tunisian Arab was fascinating. How the protagonist was kind of in the middle of these two groups and kind of had a loyalty to both.

Baldwin is really good at taking a normal everyday scenario and giving it so much weight and meaning even though it still remains ordinary. Like these two things exist at once.

Coming Out the Wilderness - The internalized misogyny and shame the heroine is dealing with is awful. I honestly just want to give her a hug and tell her she's worth so much more than how any of these men see her or even how she sees herself. I really wish there was a more hopeful ending to this one.

I can't decide if Baldwin recognized the double standards that his female protagonist is held to or not. I don't know enough about how he viewed women, particularly black women who are in interracial relationships, to really understand what he was trying to say with this character.

In the last short story the male protagonist is in an interracial relationship and there's no sense of shame with it. However. The protagonist was concerned when his white French friend and Arab friend were interested in a black woman they had all just met. Even the protagonist didn't quite understand why he was disturbed by it. So it does make me wonder if there's some hang ups there by the author. I'll need to read more by him to see if this perception has merit.

Like everything so far it's well written and compelling. You feel with each of his protagonists.

Going to Meet the Man - the amount of vitriol in this protagonist's mind is repulsive. Like the amount of hate and abuse he espouses, and knowing it was the norm (and for some people still is). That he has power over people is infuriating.

The description of the abuse black people endured while protesting for their human rights was hard to read. It's eerily familiar to how cops still deal with those protesting like during the BLM protests and now with the Pro-Palestinian protests. That so very little has actually changed with how law enforcement polices black, brown, and poor bodies is literally a crime against humanity.

Also, how he uses music throughout this story to help weave everything together is such good storytelling. He's also really good at using flashbacks where it flows seamlessly with the present.

Speaking of flashbacks, the one in this story was hard to get through. So much violence and hate. This was the hardest story to get through, and that's saying something considering how some of the other stories ended.

Content Warnings