From beginning to end, a horrible book.

At the beginning: 100 pages of repetitive thoughts before even mentioning the crime which then gets explored over the next 200 pages but there's so little to explore that it's largely filled with more pointless thoughts and dialogue.

At the end, huh? What kind of an ending was that? Normally, I would ask someone to explain it to me but in this case, I don't care and don't even want to know.

Other notes:

I can accept things being dated but .. I still don't see the point of reading this now. I'm all too familiar with police misbehavior and I suppose the book may have been shocking when it was written decades ago but now at this pivot point, the police misbehavior makes for tiresome reading. The characters are not interesting either. The two leads were immature and acted that way. The other characters weren't any better. How many times did I have to listen to a character say "We have to get him out of jail?" The interactions between the parents and the sisters - again, largely immature. If the dialogue sparkled in some way that would have been nice but it was just banal dialogue.

Some sections had potential but were disappointing. For example, when the mother traveled to Puerto Rico had potential but again the action there was absurdly insipid. A few key scenes with the lawyer were ok. But he was raped in jail and that became one sentence? Huh?! And of course the ending - see my comment earlier. ( )

A classic for a reason. Baldwin has such a way with words. This book simultaneously captures a specific moment in time and place yet somehow feels timeless and generalizable to so many Black communities across 100 years.

One note: there is a LOT of casual homophobia in this novel that I found very jarring. I am sure an expert could tell you whether this has some deeper meaning but to me it was simply something that wrenched me out of the narrative a few times. Sigh. ( )

A perfect novel about injustice, togetherness, and love in its most genuine and pure state. ( )

A stunning love story about a young Black woman whose life is
torn apart when her lover is wrongly accused of a crime

Published in 1974 and set in Harlem, this book is part love story and part condemnation of racial injustice. Tish and Fonny have known each other since they were children. Tish narrates the story, telling how they became a couple and how Fonny ended up in prison for a crime he did not commit. Tish, her family, and Fonny’s father try their best to prove his innocence. This couple maintains a sense of optimism in the face of extreme hardship through their love for each other. It is a sad and disturbing story of racism and corruption in the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, these topics remain relevant in today’s society. This is the fifth book I have ready by James Baldwin and his writing is consistently strong. ( )