Go Tell It on the Mountain

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Summary: Spiritual Drama
Review: Religion and Race are the two themes of this novel, with religion being the more dominant. The plot of the story and its religious tones, are fitting for the title. The characters of the story "go tell it on the mountain" they voice all their problems and sins to God in hopes to lead a life that is right by god. The racism mixed in the story is included more because of the time period and era than because of its deep involvement in the story. Basically, Go Tell It On The Mountain, is the depicts the trials and tribulations through which the cast found their peace with god.

Rating:
Summary: How spritual do you think you are?
Review: This book was a rare find on how people really follow through on their religion. I would recommend this book to any one who believes their is a God and anyone who is skeptical about God. This book takes place in the early 1900's. The books main focus is on the protagonist character, who is a 14 year old, bastard child who's step-father is a minister who hates him. This book really shows the irony in how when people try to live right, there always will be that person to throw all the wrong you ever done in your face. Read this intriging page turning book to really understand what I'm talking about.

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Summary: Sweeter the Second Time Around
Review: This was my second time reading this masterpiece;the first time in the early 70s. I don't remember what I thought about it then, though I remember it leaving an impression. The writing then and moreso now is writing at its best from a master in my opinion. Yes it is complex, convoluted, disturbing at times but for me it flowed. Not everyone can write fire and brimstone, sin and redemption in literary terms. I am in awe of his genius.

During one night at a prayer service, four individuals stories are told. John, on this day has just turned fourteen years old and is trying to make sense of his life. Gentle, intelligent, he wanted so much to please the man who he thought of as his father. He had potential to expand his life beyond the limitations in front of him. Gabriel, wretched, tortured soul, a man who refused to take responsibility for his actions. Saved, sanctified and fill with the Holy Ghost, his mistreatment of his first wife, Deborah, his discard lover, Esther, his present wife Elizabeth and his son John is what kept him from being the minister that he was in his youth before he fell from grace. Elizabeth, proud and determined, she wanted John to have the same love from Gabriel that he gave to his other "natural" sons. A woman who accepted her circumstances; she has lost her first true love, Richard and was resigned to accepting Gabriel's hand in marriage to redeem her sin. Florence, too proud for her own good Bitter, resentful of her brother Gabriel and now perhaps facing death, she has lived a live of unfulfilled dreams.

Where we they all stand after they haved poured their hearts and souls on the alter? Secrets, dreams, hopes are revealed. Told in a language of complexity full of allegories, symbolism, Bible similies, it is no wonder it is taught in universities around the country. I am on a quest to read re-read Baldwin's books that I have read and read others that I have not. Nobody does it better.

Rating:
Summary: a harsh young book brimming with confidence
Review: I liked this book much more than anticipated. My initial expectation was a nicely written and overly poetic jumble about religion and identity crisis, probably a little too sentimental.

Half right--Go Tell It On the Mountain is a powerful study of boyhood and parental expectation as well as the glories and the horror of religious conviction. It's more of a song, really, with dense, rhythmic prose that sings its song in a ramble that comes across almost like preaching. The effect is intended I would imagine, and produces results that are frequently stirring.

This book transcends any mundane consideration of justice or political justification and breathes out a far more individualistically human story. A very quick read--

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book by Baldwin.
Review: I enjoyed this book. Being a Christian, I could relate to John's journey as he turned to Christ. The style of the book was a little confussing. It was hard to know if Baldwin, as the narrator was simply narrating so we as an audience could know what the characters had been through, or if he was telling the character's thoughts. The characters, each with their own struggles, add variety. I liked how everything in the end doesn't just work out wonderful, and that we don't know if John changes his ways. Only knowing his heart has changed, we can imagine anything, good or bad for the rest of his life's journey.

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Summary: Go Tell It On the Mountain Review
Review: Have you ever read a book you know would be great, if the sentences weren't so long and drawn-out? And you try to read it, but it is just too descriptive? Go Tell It On the Mountain, by James Baldwin, is exactly that book for me.
The story is about a young boy, John, and his family growing up in Harlem. Or at least that is supposed to be the plot. But in reality, not even half of the book takes place in Harlem. Each person in Go Tell It On the Mountain had their own mini-plot. Usually, mini-plots are a useful tool for writing a book. But to be useful, the plots must first, all fit together.
When reading this book I was continually confused by the way the author jumped in and out of flashbacks. Characters during these flashbacks are not explained the way they should be. Baldwin takes a little too much time using big words, and not enough time introducing new characters.
If you are interested in reading this book, I would suggest to do so. While reading this novel, you may learn how not to use flashbacks, how to make sentences as long as a paragraph, and how to over-use large words. I warn you, have your dictionary ready.

Rating:
Summary: Didn't Float My Boat
Review: James Baldwin's "Go Tell It On The Mountain" depicts the story of a young preacher's son who struggles with religious meaning in his life. Discerning between his own beliefs and what everyone around him expects becomes an internal battle for him. Interpreted through a rather slower plot-with several series of abrupt flashbacks and drawn-out paragraphs-you often find the story hard to follow. For example, in the period of time the book covers, which elapses in a single day, you get in-depth looks into the complete life-stories of three individual characters. Moreover, Baldwin's descriptive writing tends to inform you of more details than you want or need to know. However, in the midst of such confusion you are able to hear Baldwin's voice protrude. He clearly understands the people he portrays, and I'll give him that. So, if you are searching for a book with a confusing plot, little action or dialogue, and abrupt scene changes, you've got it. But to the rest of the readers in this world, I wouldn't recommend this book.

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Summary: Go Tell It On The Mountain,a dissapointment in itslef
Review: Drawn-out, overly descriptive, and at times hard to follow. Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin tells the story of the deep spiritual struggle of a fourteen year old black boy growing up in a Harlem community in the 1930's. At times, the book sounds almost poetic until an abrupt, and occasionally disturbing, flash back jumps at you from out of nowhere. Eventually, the story turns into somewhat of a bad soap opera with adultery, gangs, attempted murder, child abuse, suicide, and rape. Baldwin has shown through this book his mastery of fitting someone's life story into a single sentence as he attempted to do several times, losing the reader mid sentence. Baldwin also went on for pages describing dust in a house and adulterous moments-a euphemism of course. I can
certainly agree with New York Times' review, " with vivid imagery and lavish attention to details." But I never imagined it to be this bad. Where details lacked in some areas, they
grew like weeds in others. Attention to details many people do not want to hear about proliferated, distracting from the supposed focus of the book, the spiritual struggles of teenage boy.
In five words or less: sick, twisted and way to long. So, if you are looking for a soap opera-like book which could have easily been 200 pages shorter go to your nearest
bookstore and purchase Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin.

Rating:
Summary: A Unique Look At Black Life Rarely Explored in Depth
Review: I stumbled upon this book a few years ago and was amazed at how great it was. While Richard Wright's "Native Son" and Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" appear to receive most of the attention as the best novels by black authors during the mid-twentieth century, I still think Baldwin's achievement in "Go Tell It On the Mountain" was a lot more important and long-lasting. I think this is chiefly because his aims appeared to be different, focusing more on the less dramatic ways that blacks have attempted to cope with the frustrations arising out of American Racism as well as the limitations it placed on their prospects for a fulfilling life. It is far more difficult it seems to me, to convey how the vast majority of blacks in those days sublimated their rage and pain through a more acceptable venue like the Black church, rather than illustrate how that very same rage and pain explodes in acts of violence (Native Son) or political agitation (Invisible Man). Perhaps Baldwin's novel receives less acclaim than these other two because it's more of a challenge to read, more difficult to connect with on a visceral level, because it aims at bottom not so much to entertain as to enlighten. I thought it was an absolutely first-rate piece of fiction, and it's method of flowing back and forth in time between one generation and another give it a certain unconventional, experimental quality that was rare for it's era.

Rating:
Summary: Simply Intriguiging...
Review: Go Tell It On The Mountain, the autobiography of James Baldwin, is an excellent rendition of life in New York City during the 1950's as an African American. The rough lifestyle, domestic drama, and racial clash of his childhood unfold over the course of this book. The autobiography is written in the third person, so as to interpolate black history rather than his life facts. The book is not so much about his life but rather the essence of his lifetime. His story is told through dialogue and the stories of others. He places the reader in his shoes as a witness. This is an incredibly interesting choice of the writer. Religion is also a both negative and positive influence in his family life. He faces much domestic pressure in an unaccommodating country. This is a worthwhile read and is significant to life. His view is intriguing. Life is like a mountain.