#Tish and Fonny

[jadenvargen]

free online james baldwin stories, essays, videos, and other resources

**edit

James baldwin online archive with his articles and photo archives.

---NOVELS---

Giovanni's room"When David meets the sensual Giovanni in a bohemian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But his girlfriend's return to Paris destroys everything. Unable to admit to the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened - while Giovanni's life descends into tragedy. This book introduces love's fascinating possibilities and extremities."

Go Tell It On The Mountain"(...)Baldwin's first major work, a semi-autobiographical novel that has established itself as an American classic. With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy's discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Baldwin's rendering of his protagonist's spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves."

+bonus: film adaptation on youtube. (if you’re a giancarlo esposito fan, you’ll be delighted to see him in an early preacher role)

Another Country and Going to Meet the Man Another country: "James Baldwin's masterly story of desire, hatred and violence opens with the unforgettable character of Rufus Scott, a scavenging Harlem jazz musician adrift in New York. Self-destructive, bad and brilliant, he draws us into a Bohemian underworld pulsing with heat, music and sex, where desperate and dangerous characters betray, love and test each other to the limit." Going to meet the Man: " collection of eight short stories by American writer James Baldwin. The book, dedicated "for Beauford Delaney", covers many topics related to anti-Black racism in American society, as well as African-American–Jewish relations, childhood, the creative process, criminal justice, drug addiction, family relationships, jazz, lynching, sexuality, and white supremacy."

Just Above My Head"Here, in a monumental saga of love and rage, Baldwin goes back to Harlem, to the church of his groundbreaking novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, to the homosexual passion of Giovanni's Room, and to the political fire that enflames his nonfiction work. Here, too, the story of gospel singer Arthur Hall and his family becomes both a journey into another country of the soul and senses--and a living contemporary history of black struggle in this land."

If Beale Street Could Talk"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 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."

also has a film adaptation by moonlight's barry jenkins

Tell Me How Long the Train's been gone At the height of his theatrical career, the actor Leo Proudhammer is nearly felled by a heart attack. As he hovers between life and death, Baldwin shows the choices that have made him enviably famous and terrifyingly vulnerable. For between Leo's childhood on the streets of Harlem and his arrival into the intoxicating world of the theater lies a wilderness of desire and loss, shame and rage. An adored older brother vanishes into prison. There are love affairs with a white woman and a younger black man, each of whom will make irresistible claims on Leo's loyalty. 

---ESSAYS---

Baldwin essay collection. Including most famously: notes of a native son, nobody knows my name, the fire next time, no name in the street, the devil finds work- baldwin on film

--DOCUMENTARIES--

Take this hammer, a tour of san Francisco.

Meeting the man

--DEBATES:--

Debate with Malcolm x, 1963 ( on integration, the nation of islam, and other topics. )

Debate with William Buckley, 1965. ( historic debate in america. )

Heavily moderated debate with Malcolm x, Charles Eric Lincoln, and Samuel Schyle 1961. (Primarily Malcolm X's debate on behalf of the nation of islam, with Baldwin giving occassional inputs.)

----

apart from themes obvious in the book's descriptions, a general heads up for themes of incest and sexual assault throughout his works.

[bolandoando]

watching if beale street could talk and i’ll wait to the end to have an opinion on tish’s actress but i rlly dont know about her

[blackinperiodfilms]

My favorite Black couples in Period Films/Series.

An anon recently asked me about my favorite Black couples in period films/series. I have a few! Some of which come along with trigger warnings and a bit of a heads up on not so happy endings. Some of these couples have happy endings, some have endings that leave you wondering, and some have beautiful relationships that ended tragically.

Happy Endings (To me anyway.)

Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) & Rachel Robinson (Nicole Beharie) in 42 (2013).

Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) & Colonel Jim Johnson (Mahershala Ali) in Hidden Figures (2016). 

Chicken George (Regé-Jean Page) & Matilda (Erica Tazel) in Roots (2016).

Marie Ste. Marie (Nicole Lyn) & Richard Lermontant (Jason Olive) in The Feast of All Saints (2001).  

The characters in this miniseries go through a lot. TW for SA.

Not So Happy Endings (SPOILER-ISH!!)

Rosalee (Jurnee Smollett) &  Noah (Aldis Hodge)  in Underground (2016-2017). 

Canceled on a cliffhanger.

Tish Rivers (KiKi Layne) &  Alonzo 'Fonny' Hunt (Stephan James) in If Beale Street Could Talk (2018).

The ending isn’t definite. I choose to think positively about their story.

Cora William (Thuso Mbedu) & Royal (William Jackson Harper)  in The Underground Railroad (2021). 

This story ends tragically. 

Roots: The Next Generations (1979) has generations of a few sweet relationships that I enjoy watching.

[haveyoureadthispoll]

In 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 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.

[americanacowgirl]

“Agape” by Nicholas Britell for the film adaptation of “If Beale Street Could Talk” by James Baldwin

My first time hearing the song in the film, I had probably already cried 3 times. Watching the film made me emotional because of the strong lead Love had in the film. It was a tender moment in the film, when Tish realized she was falling for Fonny.

I think about Love often. Maybe more often than the recommended good for the soul and spirit. It makes me analyze the current social climate, and how damagingly rare it is to find Love nowadays. In communities, there are tugs, in families there is lack, and the dating pool is rather shallow, or worse—dry.

Maybe I’m just a hopeless romantic that has had one too many experiences with lust and envy rather than Love from different relationships and would like to have a refreshing love-filled experience for once.

I want so badly to experience butterflies and not find a fault that crushes them. To let my walls down and be 100% myself without the fear, or care, of pushing someone away. To be understood and heard without my fears and transgressions being stored for later use as a weapon against me.

It makes me sad to think about Love, and really it shouldn’t be that way. I wonder why I was born into this kind of environment, this generation, this life—it isn’t one to write home about.

An ordinary life, filled with purpose, rich spirit and Love. That’s all I want. I genuinely feel I very much need it.

[spacebeyonce]

📚dom's library: may wrap up📚

alright! wrap up for all the books I've read (or tried to read) in may. I was able to read soooo many books (13!!! 13 books!!!) thanks to the libby app and my job letting us listen to stuff through our headphones. I haven't read this many books since high school!

this will be a bit long, because I'm not going to be short about these books, so. bear with me! june's will probably be a smaller list lmao. and I will try my best to be spoiler free in my reviews!

anyway! let's get into it.

5 - 4 ⭐:

👻 how to sell a haunted house by grady hendrix (5⭐)

after the sudden death of her parents, louise has to return to charleston to deal with her parents' estate and her insufferable younger brother mark, who she's been estranged from for years. as they sift through their childhood home, laden with memories and puppets, mark and louise discover that this house has more than the puppets and dolls for them to handle.

lord, this book. I've liked most of grady hendrix's books so far, but this one really got me. I loved this! I had so much fun listening to it! it was giving goosebumps energy and I LOVED that, I was LIVING.

it was funny, it was scary, and it was horribly sad when I didn't expect it to be. when I tell you that I finished this audiobook quietly sobbing at my work desk I am not bullshitting you. how to sell a haunted house is a reminder for why I do not fuck with puppets or dolls.

🌆 if beale street could talk by james baldwin (5⭐)

nineteen years old, clementine (mainly known as tish) is in love with her childhood friend alfonzo (mainly known as fonny), and has recently discovered that she is pregnant with his child. they plan to marry, but then fonny is imprisoned for a crime that he did not commit. with the clock ticking down until the birth of their child, tish and her family work in an effort to clear fonny's name and get him out of jail.

AAAAH!!! this BOOK!!! I had borrowed it on a whim 'cause I'm interested in watching the movie adaptation, but was curious to see how the book went before that. and jesus christ.

this was so.....like when I reached the end, I felt very.....incomplete?? the open ending jarred me a little, but I definitely didn't hate it! I would have liked a concrete ending, a true conclusion, but the uncertainty the book ended on...it felt real. realistic. it stung a bit.

I loved reading tish and fonny fall in love, and my GOD did they fall - they love each other so ardently, so completely!! the devotion they have for each other, my goodness. it definitely stole my breath a few times.

and their families!!! the way most of them went above and beyond to do what they can and get fonny out of jail!! the full, open support they have for tish and her pregancy!! the absolute love and joy her family has at welcoming a new life into the world oh my goddddd. I believe in love y'all, I truly do.

🚢 into the raging sea by rachel slade (5⭐)

on october 1st, 2015, hurricain joaquin struck the bahamas and sank the cargo ship el faro, taking all thirty three lives on board. after interviews with family of the crew, maritime experts, and using the last twenty six hours of audio captured on the el faro's last voyage, rachel slade recounts the final hours of the crew of the el faro and casts a critical light on the maritime shipping industry, and how lives were sacrificed for profit.

okaaaaay, so I mentioned a while back that I get really focused on a certain shipwreck every now and then. for the last couple months, thanks to the well there's your problem podcast, I've been ridiculously fixated on the sinking of the s.s. el faro back in 2015 - a cargo ship that sailed directly into the eye of a cat 3 hurricane and got its shit rocked. when I heard this book mentioned, I had to see if it was available to listen to. and it was!!!

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but it takes a lot for me to get into a non-fiction book - and this one had me riveted. this disaster really was just one little mistake after another, until it became a domino effect that they couldn't escape. I think this has gripped me so because it was so preventable. this didn't have to happen! if the ship was in a better state, if the captain pulled his head out of his ass and listened to his crew, if tote maritime company wasn't so fixated on profit that the people working on these ships become collateral, like....!! 🗣️EL PROBLEMA ES CAPITALISMO!!! and fuck climate change!!!

⛪ transcendent kingdom by yaa gyasi (5⭐)

gifty, a sixth year phd student, is taking on the care of her mother, who is so depressed she can't get out of bed. gifty is studying neuroscience, trying to understand how the brain is affected by depression and addiction - for her mother, and for her brother, nana, who died of an overdose after becoming addicted to pain medication. while dealing with this loss and the decline of her mother, gifty is also grappling with her faith, raised in an evangelical household and trying to reconcile all the pain she has lived through with the peace and salvation she was promised through the church.

my review for this book was simply that I felt flayed open. that this book carved my chest open, cracked apart my ribs and peered inside. gifty's thoughts and struggles when it came to christianity were so like my own that I was genuinely shaken. her questions, her doubts, her feelings and hoping and wanting - I've felt all of that, too. all of it!

in gifty I truly see so much of myself. her struggles with religion and faith, and especially the loss of faith in the face of loss. of praying so much, praying so hard for a loved one to get well, to live on, and then it just...not happening. nothing can cut your faith quicker than that.

her relationship with her mother as well like goddamn godDAMN....that same kind of tough love. that same wild devotion to god. that same ability to just say the most cutting, out of pocket shit about you out of NOWHERE....gifty you are stronger than the us marines. doubly so because she also had to deal with ALABAMA. ALABAMA!!! AND A WHITE ASS TOWN TOO!!! STRENGTH!!!!

🦢 the beautiful ones by silvia moreno-garcia (5⭐)

a regency-esque story based in fantasy france with a sprinkle of magic, we follow the stories of antonina beaulieu, hector auvray, and valerie beaulieu as they deal with the grand season and all that entails. antonina, hoping to find love like the ones she's read in stories - and also hoping to outrun the rumors about her due to her telekinetic powers. hector, a telekinetic preformer that has returned to loisail after ten years with one goal in mind: to win back the heart of his first love - the crown jewel of loisail, valerie beaulieu.

when I tell you that this book had me KICKING MY FEET and GIGGLING!!! I AM A HECTOR/NINA TRUTHER, I BELIEVE!! it was so sweet?? and romantic?? and I love a good second chance romance, though it doesn't fall under what that trope usually means. but it was so sweet!! that's all I can say over and over and over, I just. it was love prevailing despite the odds. nina was so bright and earnest and true to herself, and hector had such a quiet sweetness beneath all that melancholy.

and valerie. bro she is so cersei-core I am SICK. the desire to have the power that your name once held, the resentment of having to follow the whims of what's expected of you and not what you want, looking down on other women and holding yourself above them, loving someone so fiercely and madly that it kind of twists into hate like!!! cersei lannister core!!! this woman was NASTY work and I LOVED her.

I do wish that hector and nina's powers were explored a little more? like....what's the magic system. how did these powers happen. are there other people with powers. but it didn't bring down the story for me! I really loved this, I was swooning.

🌊 river woman, river demon by jennifer givhan (4.75⭐)

eva santos moon is a wife, mother, artist - and witch, practicing brujeria and curanderisma in honor of her late mother. eva has hit a low point in her life - inspiration has left her, she's suffering from blackouts and memory issues, and her connection to her magic feels distant. on top of all this, she is haunted by the death of a beloved childhood friend that happened many years ago, and memories of her are stirring when her husband is incarcerated as a suspect for the murder of their friend, eva must do her best to hold her family together and free her husband - even though she doesn't believe he's as innocent as he claims...

this book bro.....this fuckin' book. it was - I loved the mystery! the connection between the death of her friends, past and present. but the main character?? eva??? she drove me up the fucking wall.

she was so deep in her goddamn head it was genuinely wild as a mf. like, when her husband says something that read SO CLEARLY to me that he wanted his wife to BELIEVE IN HIM she's just like 'oh is he accusing me, is he saying I'm the bad guy here' like my sister in christ!!! pull your head out of your ass for five seconds and trust in your man!!! and oh my GOD her man.

jericho is a fine fine fine slice of chocolate cake. he is steady, he is warm and inspiring, hardworking and devoted. he is ten toes DOWN for eva, he is UNSHAKEABLE for her. and she just doubts and doubts and doubts. and I KNOW it's for the character journey. but like bitch if you're gonna mistrust your husband like this then I'LL take him, shit!!

aside from that, this book was SO good. I really enjoyed the mystery plot throughout, and when everything started coming together I was literally screaming in the car at every twist and reveal like broooooo. excellent book. but get your shit together eva.

3 - 2 ⭐:

🎸 we sold our souls by grady hendrix (3.25⭐)

twenty years after the end of metal band durt wurk, former guitarist kris polaski is miserable. her job is terrible, she has no money, no friends, and no music in her. on top of all that, kris gets news that chills her to the bone - terry hunt, her old bandmate and the man who cast his bandmates off to go solo is going on a farewell tour and bringing his band koffin to a close. pushed to finally confront terry and demand answers for his abandonment, kris decides to try and reunite her bandmates, knowing the risk - knowing that they might still hate her, for what she did. but on the way, kris finds out that terry might have given away more than just durt wurk's sucess in his effort to rise to the top.

okay so like most of the grady hendrix books I've read so far, this was good! but it definitely wasn't the best of his books for me. that crown is deserved for how to sell a haunted house. but we sold our souls is a pretty fun romp, that definitely had some chilling moments that made you paranoid right along with kris. you couldn't trust the people around you. you never knew who - or what - might be watching.

and there was a part 68% in that was so upsetting that I just closed the audiobook and hopped out the libby app. like I was done for the day, shit was rough.

but at the end of the day, this did end up being pretty mid for me. I also did not appreciate all the microagressions made about black artists and black music. could have done without that!

🌱 parable of the sower by octavia butler (3.25⭐)

in the distant future of 2024, the united states has crumbled due to climate change. resources are scarce, good water is hard to find, and people are willing to do anything and everything to make sure they can survive. at fifteen, lauren olamina lives in a community with her family, gated off and secluded from the outside dangers. lauren also struggles with hyperempathy, taking on the pain of others to a debilitating degree, and though their community is surviving, lauren knows that the security they have made for themselves won't last, and that their community needs to be ready for when that day comes. and in her efforts to find hope in such a hopeless world, lauren tries to figure out god - and creates a new faith that she believes will one day lead them to the stars.

this book was fucking ROUGH bro like.....truly on some mad max shit where it's every man for themselves. honestly I got a little tired of it a little over halfway 'cause like. idk I just can't believe that people would inherently fall back to violence in these conditions. that we'd all do what we can to help each other...I dunno. but shit was bleak! and there was a lot of sexual assault of women and girls, which I didn't appreciate. once again, probably because I cannot believe that humanity as a whole would just be so violent. but hey!

also - that relationship that happened at the end?? you know the one. what the hell was that. what is it with octavia butler and these damn age gaps jesus christ.

all in all, it was a solid middle of the road read for me. it was a little disorienting to read this in 2024, but still enlightening somewhat. idk if I'll read the next book any time soon though.

🍎 ripe by sarah rose etter (2.5⭐)

one year into her job at a startup in silicone valley, cassie is struggling; work eats away at her, long hours surrounded by coworkers and supervisors that look down and disrespect her. she barely has friends and she's making it by the skin of her teeth in an expensive city that she hates. she's lonely - but never alone, her constant, unending companion a black hole that's been with her since childhood, ebbing and flowing depending on her anxiety and depression. when her job starts demanding actions of the dubiously ethical variety and she suddenly finds herself in the family way, cassie has to decide if a life in san francisco is truly what she wants.

besties I fucking hated this book. it was literally just seven hours of this woman bitching and moaning and woe is me-ing but not really making any changes until the last fucking second. she thinks she's better than the people she works with, but still marches to their drum, pulling some pretty sketch shit against a rival startup and bringing a pakistani man into this bullshit company, knowing that he's going to get screwed, all while playing the world's smallest goddamn violin for herself. ain't that just like a white woman, smh.

and I'm sure that's the point of this book. I understand! this is supposed to be a critique on capitalism, on hustle culture, on work and how it drains the life out of you and demands so much of you only to give so little in return. I get it! truly!

but baby I am not connecting with this white woman languishing in silicon valley, throwing a whole pity party for herself but doing nothing to better her situation. I am a firm believer of hitting the fucking bricks when a situation is ass. there are better jobs out there with better coworkers in more affordable places. these people don't care about you. Real Winners Quit.

the ending was also ambiguous as a mf and I don't care enough about cassie to feel a type of way about it. my good sis, go to therapy. you can't cocaine your way out of everything.

....now I feel like even two stars is generous. hm.

0️⃣ unrated:

⛵ deep as the sky, red as the sea by rita chang-eppig

after the death of her pirate husband by portuguese sailors, shek yeung has to act fast in order to retain her power over the red pirate fleet. agreeing to marry her late husband's second in command and bear a child, shek yeung also has to contend with greater threats as china's emperor increases efforts to remove pirates entirely from the south china seas.

this book is p much based on the life of ching shih, one of the baddest female pirates to ever do it. the story was tense, with a lot of political intrigue when it came to the pirates and the different colored fleets. shek yeung is a boss ass protagonist, a woman that was made hard because of the bullshit life threw at her, but she kept her wits about her and made the best decisions she could to come out on top - and alive.

I think if I would rate this after the fact I'd give it a solid 4.75⭐! a very easy read, but tw for sexual assault - that is a big part of some of the main characters' backstories (shek yeung and the second in command specifically). the ending was a little sad, but all in all an enjoyable book.

🍄 sorrowland by rivers solomon

vern is fifteen and seven months pregnant when she escapes from the religious compound she was made to call home, fleeing deep into the woods for safety. she births her children there, and plans to raise them wild and free - but there are changes happening to her body. changes that she can't explain. and to understand the changes and protect her children, vern will have to return to the one place that she had desperately wanted to escape.

this one, oh man. what a fuckin' ride it was. vern is one of those characters that are very...prickly. she's always got her defenses up and is ready to snap at you quick fast in a hurry, and I love her. she was wild, and her twin babies are adorable - and their names are very interesting haha!

there's also a sapphic romance, which was really sweet! I was concerned for a while that I had run into another couple with a huge age gap, but it wasn't! thank fuck. parable of the sower was enough.

the story has a lot going on - examination of religion and how it can be used to exploit people that have been left behind by the world, a bit of supernatural scifi, human experimentation, and finding love and community and connection despite it all, despite trying so damn hard to make yourself an island. if I rated it now....4.25⭐

🌕 daughter of the moon goddess by sue lynn tan

all her life, xingyin has been raised in secret; living on the moon with her mother, the goddess chang'e, who was exiled to the moon for stealing an elixir of immortality, her existence has been hidden from the celestial emperor - but one can't stay hidden forever. when her existence is discovered, xingyin is forced to leave behind the only home she has ever known, and ends up in the celestial kingdom. alone and afraid, xingyin decides that she will do whatever it takes to return home - and to free her mother from her lunar prison.

I read this book because I am a sucker for pretty covers and BOY does this one deliver. I had a fun time with this book, though the prose did get a little heavy at times. but I think this is the author's first book ever? so I gave a little grace. it wasn't crazy distracting or anything lmao.

but whew! this book had a lot going on. the magic system of this world was pretty fuckin' neat, and it was cool to see xingyin find her footing in this new world and do her best to achieve her goals! I was rooting for her. there is, unfortunately, a love triangle, and it was annoying, but mostly because I am too old for that shit lmao. I was also ridiculously annoyed at how she spend like 20% of the book being a hardass to one of the love interests because of something that happened OUT OF HIS CONTROL and is kinda connected to HIS JOB but whatever. whatever!

I'll probably read the sequel as well, but not anytime soon! until then, my rating now would be....4⭐

🌿 the daughters of temperance hobbs by katherine howe

connie goodwin is a professor at a university in boston, specializing in america's history with witchcraft. a successful scholar, connie is more connected to the history of witchcraft in america than she'd like to admit - a direct descendant of a woman that was tried as a witch during the trials in salem. a series of events force connie to realize that her partner's life may be in danger, a curse tracing through her bloodline, killing any man that falls in love with a woman in her family. with time slowly running out, connie must confront her family's past, and solve the mystery behind the curse that has plagued her family for generations.

oh this one was FUN, y'all. I ate this book up quick! and apparently it's the second book in a series?? I had no idea! it stands well enough on its own that honestly I don't think I need to read the first one to understand what's going on. the main character, connie, tried my goddamn patience lmao. she is the prime example of people that are so deep in academia that their relationships kinda suffer for it. like talk to your man girl!! talk to him about this damn curse!!! and the [redacted]!!! you can't just think that he can READ YOUR MIND and just KNOW like GIRRLLLLLL.

speaking of her man, sam is just a delight. truly a darling. by the end of the book I was just like god when will it be my turn. WHEN WILL IT BE MY TURN??? GOD

I also really liked the flashbacks to women in connie's family line, they were all cool as hell - especially temperance! she was neat.

and zazie.....the only woman of color in a sea of white nonsense. she is stronger than any us marine because she is a woman of color doing grad school in a predominantly white college. I know she has been through things that would make connie's hair turn white. you deserve everything you want sis, you truly do.

and I thiiiink.....4.5⭐, if I rated this book now.

🕯️ black candle women by diane marie brown

the montrose women have been living contentedly in a california bungalow for years, keeping mostly to themselves. their lives have been calm - until the youngest montrose, nickie, brings home a boy and throws their world into disarray. because the boy is a reminder. a reminder of a secret that they have kept from nickie for years - a curse. a curse that if a man falls in love with a montrose woman, then they're destined to die.

this is basically in the same vein as the daughters of temperance hobbs but with black women and black magical culture. and I LOVED it. all of the women in the montrose family - augusta, victoria, willow, and nickie - are so vibrant. they all butt heads, of course, but at the end of the day there's still love.

victoria was a little triggering at times lmao mostly because she really reminded me of my own mom at times, and LORD do we butt heads. it was worse when I was a teenager, so I really felt for nickie when her mother started tightening that leash. and willowwwww oh my god I loved herrrr. she was so chill and so full of love. and augusta! she may not be able to physically speak, but that doesn't stop her from speaking her mind!

I absolutely recommend this - if you want a story about generations of black women working through misunderstandings, beating a curse that has dogged their heels for years, and loving each other despite the bumps along the way, then read this!! read it!! if I rated this now, I think I'm giving it a solid 5⭐

❌ DNF:

��� gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir

reason for DNF: the writing made me wanna die a little? it was very like.....if you like homestuck and think it's still funny, then this book will work for you. it did not work for me. also, all the fucking names were so hard to keep track of. but mostly it was just the writing - all those quips! I am not a teenager, this shit isn't funny to me anymore please relax.

🏡 the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson

reason for DNF: I just didn't like the audiobook 😭, I'm gonna try and check out a physical copy when I can...I think I'll like it more if I'm actually READING it.

and that's it! that's my may wrapup! this was more work than I expected, whew. but! if anyone gives these books a read, or has read them before, let me know your thoughts!

[shirleyjacksonesque]

fonny and tish are my romeo and juliet

[chanelslibrary]

🌙 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰🌙

if beale street could talk by james baldwin

(no spoilers)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

this book was so intense. (in the best way!) following the mc, tish, it reads like a stream of consciousness, but baldwin is such a fantastic writer that he instantly transports the reader to the 1970’s and what it is like for tish’s boyfriend, fonny, to be wrongly accused of a crime as a black man after the civil rights movement.

the only reason i didn’t give it 5 stars is because of the ambiguous ending (which after watching the movie, makes me like it) i prefer my books and their characters to have everything tied up with a neat bow at the end. lol james baldwin paints a picture of a beautiful love story within a tragedy, and still throws in profound knowledge about life, love, racism, and existentialism. he deserves all the praise he got and then some for his works and activism, and i will definitely be reading more of his books!

the movie—I 𝓱𝓪𝓭 to watch it. and my thoughts are: regina king deserved that oscar! ALL MY BOYS were in this movie—diego luna, brian tyree henry, & pedro pascal! and i loved how true it stayed to the book (literally word for word most of the time!)

(+) 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬: wonderfully written, accurate portrayal of Black people in 70’s

(-) 𝐧𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬: descriptions of intense content—TW

𝐓𝐖/𝐂𝐖: description of sex, abuse, rape, drug use

[thoughtslikeaminefield]

Please put your choice for Dean's One True Love in the tags.

[psychosodomy]

Just remembered in vivid detail the scene in beale street when tish sees fonnie at visitation and his face and hands are all bruised up and hes crying about the way they treat him there and like you think about all the tender things his hands have done up until then hes a lover hes an artist hes a craftsman and he had to become a fighter and you see how much it hurts him to have to fight like that for dignity and survival

[quellstak]

one thing i love about Beale street outside of Tish Fonny and the family is that what happened to Victoria is never called into question while they are working hard to prove that Fonny is innocent they also make it clear that she is also a victim

[danisergeluk1]

DINSDAG 15 NOVEMBER 2022

Kijken naar If Beale street could talk Geregisseerd door: Barry Jenkins  Met onder meer: KiKi Layne, Stephan James en Regina King

De jaren 70. De film focust zich op het leven van enkele arme Afro-Amerikanen in Harlem en met name op de negentienjarige zwangere Tish. Zij moet snellen tegen de klok om de onschuld van haar geliefde, Fonny, te bewijzen. Deze zit, in afwachting van de rechtszaak, ten onrechte in de cel en wordt beschuldigd van verkrachting.

[bolandoando]

well they took liberties. tish’s actress didn’t rlly improve and as the lead, if we the audience have no confidence in her skill in telling this story, what can we expect from the rest of the adaptation ? i like fonny’s face but i feel anyone couldve been cast in that role and i wouldve loved him so call me biased. i feel more backstory into their childhood together was necessary, this is a story about life in this neighborhood and their love started before the pregnancy and it wouldve been worthwhile to see their relationship as kids. his mom and sisters shouldve been lightskinned if the dialogue was gonna be kept the same as in the book. its odd to call them yellow if theyre not and it wud explain why they hate and blame fonny for everything and think themselves superior to tish’s family. wouldve loved if we had seen how tish’s parents met, this is a layered love story after all. ernestine couldve been meaner and more commanding ? righteous ? she had a whole speech cut out that wouldve defined fonny’s sisters better for us. fonny’s mom and sisters wiping their hands of fonny shouldve been kept in so we could see how tish’s family was all he had now. interesting fonny’s friend didnt have multiple scenes or the breakdown where he spoke on being r-ped. i just wanted every bit of the story put into the movie bc its supposed to be a rich story, everyone has more than 1 dimension everyone is real in the book and so much conflict is missing in the movie when its limited to just the present issue of fonny in jail. i do not like the flash forward. would their lawyer have suggested a plea deal ? would it have taken 5 years if in the book they finally raised up his bail before the nine months were up ? why take a plea when the prosecution has no evidence but the word of a cop they can prove is dirty and racist. its all wacky and i wanted to feel their love and i didnt really. also i wish the scenes at the mex restaurant had more ppl, she’s meant to be seeing fonny around men, theyre his compadres and he isnt just fluent, he’s i-got-a-history-here fluent in spanish, it’s more casual and teasing and the ppl there are family to him and to tish in a way that guys are family to each other. i wanna understand that film adaptations have to make “adaptations” but no i don’t get it at all, this couldve been a beautiful film and i liked the jazz and the nina simone and the stockstill pictures but it didn’t quite feel like how those moments wanted u to believe the movie felt. idk im most disappointed in tish’s actress but im glad fonnys dad doesnt die in the end, i wanted a moment between him and tish’s dad, where theyre scared and glad to be grandfathers. his relationship w fonnys mom couldve been made clearer w some childhood scenes, its important to see that fonnys dad loved him the most and how fonnys mom never liked fonny really. anyways james baldwin should be revived to write his own screenplays bc i dont feel him in this movie in this script and hes got a beautiful voice for u to not hear it

[jzhwritingaboutlove]

Love is Courage (Week 5)

Baldwin portrays love in a very optimistic and positive light despite the often unjust, corrupt, and helpless world he often sets his story in. Love acts as a shield that protects people from the thorns of the world, a powerful force that helps people accept and embrace the hardship of reality when there is nothing they can do about the system. I find this discussion of racial and justice issues along with love to be fascinating.

If Beale Street Could Talk, echoing Baldwin’s approach to love, shows how in a time of racial injustice, a family and a couple stand together firmly to do whatever they can to help free Tish, who is falsely accused of sexual assault, making familial and romantic love a cure or buffer that people can rely on to face and live life resiliently. Indeed, Baldwin’s portrayal of love “hinges on its ability to signify interpersonal instability, moments in life when subjects are rocked by emotion, physical intimacy, and vulnerable moments that, in his work, are crucial to identity-making” (Freeburg 181). Love is the only constant among all other variables in life. We see such stability in the story from the very beginning when Tish announces to the family that she is pregnant and is welcomed by acceptance and support, even if her father takes some to process it. There is a sense of unconditional support and alliance in this family bond. The same spirit of unconditional support persists when Fonny is in trouble and is guilty until proven. The family, although well aware of how institutionally racist and unjust the US judicial system is, still actively seeks lawyers and even physically visits Puerto Rico in wish of finding Victoria, another victim of America’s social injustice, to help free Fonny. Tish also becomes a fragrance presenter, enduring blatant racialized sexual objectification to earn money to support the family through tough times. There is less of an attention paid to the likelihood of success and the outcome may be and more emphasis on how the family is willing to “‘dare everything’” for their loved ones, speaking to Baldwin’s characterization of love as something that is “crucial for growth and capturing the ‘universal sense of quest’” (Freeburg 182).

What I think If Beale Street Could Talk captures very well is that it highlights the innocence of Victoria’s conviction of Fonny as she is also a victim of the unjust system and racial discrimination, where she is taken to the country by a white husband and later on abandoned, leaving her to be equally, if not more frightened of the US police than Tish and Fonny, who at least have a strong family for support. This character thus also serves as a supporting example to corroborate the power of love. With love and the support it provides, people have courage to at least attempt to resist against the system, regardless of the outcome. Even in a system of tyranny, people can carve out a world of their own and try to seek freedom and self-sovereignty there within a household. What Baldwin seems to suggest is that with love, people can or at least feel like they can conquer the world, no matter how marginalized and disenfranchised they are in reality. 

An interesting argument in the reading is how Baldwin also suggests that one reason behind America’s brokenness is white people’s inability to love, or that there is the “absence of love, truth, and responsibility between family members, or broader still, between the citizenry of the United States” (Freeburg 184). I am not completely sold on this argument in that I do not think the type of love Baldwin describes is easily formed. To some extent, this sort of daring love might only be able to appear under the extremely unfriendly context that marginalized groups like racial minorities face because this love might be the only thing they can hold onto. In the film we see how when it is clear that Fonny cannot be released, Tish distracts him and diverts his attention to her and the baby, asking him if she has missed him, using their love as a painkiller to numb and release the helplessness and despair that engulf Fonny. When Fonny worries and panics, Tish says that “there’s no point in thinking about it like that” (Freeburg 191). Love helps them learn acceptance as there is no other way to be rid of injustice anyway. Rather than being in low spirits and devastated, they should come back stronger and march forwards. Yet, if we think about what other groups like white people experience, would love ever be referred to in such a context? No, because they would never even experience such injustice in the first place, making it unnecessary for them to rely on love as a source of stability and power. Privileges and rights that the system grants and guarantees are enough for them to live a happy life and there is not much for them to quest for. The compassion we see in the Jewish man who sells the house to Tish and Fonny, also comes from a character who comes from a culture that is known for having a tight community for they have also come out of many injustices and suffering in the past. There is a level of similarity that the two groups share.

In this sense, it can probably also be argued that love serves as a vehicle to escape, to get away from the many bad news that people have to hear every day. This sort of indestructible love and the courage born within are products of the fact that these groups of people already have nothing to lose. It is not one individual but rather a whole population that faces such hardship. The love, whether romantic or familial, “helps them face the sensations of hell and loneliness that they cannot control” as love “is what they create and renew by facing their own shifting levels of power and powerlessness” (Freeburg 191). 

[muqingt]

What Will Challenges Do to Love? And What Can Love Do to Challenges? -- If Beale Street Could Talk

People love someone or something for different reasons: we love for happiness, support, company, excitement, agreement, trust… There are endless reasons we put love as an important aspect of our life, and the only common trait that these reasons share would probably be that they are all associated with positive emotions.

 

But what will love be under hardships? Would love support us in overcoming challenges from the world, or would it be the first thing that is being challenged by the external factors? Do we need these tests and challenges to prove that we have “true love”?

 

Barry Jenkins’ film If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) explores how love would react to challenges. The main character Fonny is being falsely charged with rape. However, when Fonny is waiting for his trial, his girlfriend Tish finds out she is pregnant. The happy young couple is suddenly facing the challenges of both the trial and Tish’s pregnancy. The irresistible fact of Fonny being in prison unless they can win the trial, the fundamental prejudice and inequality that Black people face in society, and the lack of support from Fonny’s family towards Fonny and Tish’s relationship, are all trying to separate the couple. 

 

According to Lorelei Cederstrom’s paper, Love, Race, and Sex in the Novels of James Baldwin, Baldwin suggests the concept that “love without any exterior factors is ‘genuine love.’” In genuine love, people “must be willing to fight against the injustices presented against that person.” In the film, Tish and Fonny pass the first challenge of trust and “genuine love” that Tish never doubts Fonny’s innocence. Tish continues to fight against the charge by looking for lawyers and finding evidence even when she is pregnant. She displays a strong genuine love for Fonny when their love is being tested by external factors and passes the internal challenge of their love. In addition, the film also presents the genuine love between Tish and her family. When Tish’s family knows Tish’s determination to give birth to the child and prove Fonny’s innocence, they start helping with this process as well. Tish’s family carries their genuine love of Tish to Fonny. Albeit knowing Fonny will be absent during their daughter’s pregnancy due to a charge of rape, Tish’s parents fight for his justice with no doubt. 

 

However, even though Tish and Fonny have an unshakable genuine love, the exterior challenges cannot be ignored. Just as how Baldwin recognizes and emphasizes the difficulties of men and women overcoming to terms with each other in a society that has unlimited externals, the world is not doing easy on Tish and Fonny. Fonny undergoes this suffering because of his race and his marginalized social status. While Tish and her family are of the same race as Fonny, injustice is inevitable for all of them. They are being challenged because two Black people are in love, and two Black families are connected. They are born with the possibility that their love will be challenged by their race, and there is nothing they can do to change this situation. But Fonny and Tish also prove that if the love is strong enough, the hardships are just little scratches that will not cause major issues to their relationship. 

 

The challenges Fonny and Tish face also includes the reality concern of their social and economic status. The film directly suggests that Fonny is not well-educated and does not have a well-paid job, and money is one of the primary concerns that prevent them from helping Fonny. The cost of traveling to Puerto Rico to find and convince the victim to change her testimony and the everlasting cost of finding a lawyer to defend for Fonny are all challenging their love. But their love is not beaten by these costs. Love makes Tish’s entire family bond closer together and stays stronger to face their daily lives to sustain those expenses. The sequence of Tish and her family all working on their jobs and reaching out to whoever they know that might be able to help Fonny in the middle of the film is a strong part of the film, which displays how love responds to hardships. Working at the later stage of pregnancy, Tish shows no hesitation nor complaints, only the strength and determination that a mother has. All characters in the film are ordinary people, and they are dealing with abnormal injustice by living the best of their daily lives and never giving up. To me, the moments when Tish and her family are living the most common life as other people while putting efforts to make a little difference in Fonny’s case is the best representation of the power of love – to treat the extreme external challenges as another part of life that love and time will win. 

 

In the end, Tish visits Fonny with their child in prison. Their child indicates that they haven’t successfully proved Fonny’s innocence even after years, but their love always lasts. Fonny and Tish prove that no matter whether love can help overcome the external challenge if true love exists, it will not be destroyed by external factors. Whether it is their race that they cannot change, the complicated family and friend relationships or the reality concerns of money are all unrelated to the love itself.  

 

If, as it says, “to love, you must fight,” challenge and love are inseparable parts that enhance each other. The more you love, the more you need to fight, and the more you fight, the deeper your love will be. However, Baldwin suggests that “any relationship based on power, inequality, or the domination of one race or sex by another, is doomed to failure.” Hence, Baldwin believes that genuine love is impossible to occur if the external challenge is on only one of the parties in love. At the same time, it is also worth considering what would the love between a couple when one of them is being falsely charged with a crime because of their race, while the other person is not the same race. Will the challenge function as a fuse that leads to the explosion of an unbalanced love? Or will the relative “privilege” of one side more effectively help the marginalized side? Will love always strengthen the bond between the two under hardships, or will the hardship accelerate the failure of any relationship?

[doyouknowthisbook-poll]

FINAL RESULT: The majority of voters have never read this book and did not like the excerpt posted. 😔

If Beale Street Could Talk is a 1974 novel by American writer James Baldwin. The title is a reference to the 1916 W.C. Handy blues song "Beale Street Blues", named after Beale Street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. From Wikipedia: “The book follows a relationship between a 19-year-old girl named Tish, whose given name is Clementine Rivers, and a 22-year-old sculptor named Fonny, whose given name is Alonzo Hunt. They grew up in the same neighborhood in New York City and are childhood friends. They fall in love and become engaged. The novel takes place after Fonny has been falsely accused of raping a woman, and arrested and jailed awaiting his trial. Tish learns that she is pregnant after Fonny is incarcerated and must rely on her and Fonny's family for support.

Beale Street is the first Baldwin novel to focus exclusively on a Black love story; it is also the only novel in his corpus narrated by a woman. Published at the tail end of the Black Arts Movement, it explores love within Black life, centering on the emotional bonds holding two African American families together. In 2015, Stacia L. Brown, writing in Gawker, similarly found Beale Street ‘belong[ed] to a collection of literature that seeks to humanize black men, through their relationships with parents, lovers, siblings, and children. It swan-dives from optimism to bleakness and rises from the ash of dashed hopes.’ When Baldwin spoke to Hugh Hebert of The Guardian upon the release of Beale Street in 1974, he said about his work: ‘Every poet is an optimist... But on the way to that optimism “you have to reach a certain level of despair to deal with your life at all.”’

The 2018 film adaptation of the same name (directed by Barry Jenkins) was chosen by both the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute as one of the Top 10 Films of 2018. The film received numerous accolades, including Best Supporting Actress wins for Regina King at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes. It was also nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Screenplay at the 76th Golden Globe Awards, and Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score at the 91st Academy Awards.”

Do you know which book this is from?

Please reblog the polls, but KEEP IT SPOILER-FREE to make people read the excerpt with an open mind 💖📚 Title and author will be revealed after the poll's conclusion.