Go Tell It on the Mountain

Rating:
Summary: his first and best novel
Review: I came to Baldwin through his essays, which are vivid, incisive, and full of raw emotion. By contrast, most of his novels are mediocre. Nonetheless, this novel is very good, a glimpse at a life that is utterly alien and beautifully, indeed brilliantely, captured.

It is the story of a struggling boy - very bright, caught in a culture and society that excludes him as a black. If you read this, you will understand how he feels and what he struggles for. That is what a good novel does, and this is very good.

Recommended with warmth.

Rating:
Summary: Past Meets Present
Review: I felt such a connection in reading this book. All the sayings and the scripture quotings reminded me so much of my childhood and growing up in church and of my elder family members. I felt at one with John's experience. I could totally relate. I am in awe of Baldwin's writing. The metaphores and symbolisms were well placed. Some of the scene transitions could have been a little more seamless. I found myself a couple of times back tracking to understand if I was in the past or present. Character development was to a T. This was a great read!

Rating:
Summary: Flawless
Review: There are many "mountains" that we all face in our lives. There are hidden parts of ourselves that are never revealed, even to those closest to us. Many of the characters in Baldwin's "Go tell it on the mountain" have similar secrets that are revealed only to the readers, as we gain insight into their innermost thoughts.

The setting is Harlem, New York. The story opens with John, a young boy of fourteen who is at that age of great confusion in his life. He has a wild brother Roy, who is always getting in trouble, and eventually ends up getting stabbed. He has an abusive, self righteous father, Gabriel, a kind mother, Elizabeth, a boisterous aunt, Florence, and a spiritual role model named Elisha.

John wanders the city in the first part of the novel, trying to come to grips with what he wants in life and who he wants to be. His family is very religious, and soon after his brother Roy is stabbed, they end up at their church one night. John, his mother, his father, Elisha, his aunt and two other sisters join together in prayer and worship. During this praising the book shifts focus first to Florence, who is deep in prayer and meditation, and we are carried back into her past. We learn of her failed marriage, her rocky relationship with her mother, and her inside hatred of her brother, which is John' father Gabriel. After we hear her thoughts and her story, the direction shifts focus to John's father, Gabriel. Gabriel ponders on his destructive life. In the early stages of his life Gabriel was deeply involved in sin until one day he is "born again" and becomes a preacher. We learn about how he marries a woman he does not love, commits adultery, and eventually remarries John's mother. All through this process of his flashbacks we learn the cruel hypocrite that he really is. The focus next shifts to John's mother, Elizabeth. We learn of her sorrow and heartbreak in dealing with the murder of John's real father. We learn of the struggle of her to live with her husband Gabriel, and his rejection of John. Gabriel gives John the title "bastard son", and cannot accept him.

The story ends with a climax just as it began, as we are inside the head of John. As the praying and singing is going on, he is overtaken with emotion. He battles his inclination towards evil, and good tries desperately to enter into his hard heart. The final sequence is a poetic, magical scene of words. John conquers the battle inside of him in a desperate attempt to become "born again."

I love this book; it is without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read. The language is beautiful, Baldwin has masterful storytelling prose; he has great influence and power as an American writer. I never read a book that can deal with so many issues like slaver, racism, and abuse without being heavy handed, or ever staying from the powerful theme of the novel.

I can't say enough about "Go tell it on the mountain." It does everything right, and it does everything well. It is a flawless novel in every single aspect. Emotional, poetic, breathtaking, heartbreaking, vivid use of metaphors and language. The most powerful element in this novel is the human element. We care about the characters struggles, their victories, and their character. It is about real life, and the time period is described perfectly. I was never bored, always moved, and constantly in awe during the entire reading experience. Colossal in its vision, yet simple and unflinching in it's message. Brutally honest and never contrived into doing anything that deviates from the central core of the novel. This is one of the few novels I have read that does not fall short in any aspect of storytelling. "Go tell it to the mountain" will remain with you long after other classics fade into oblivion.

Grade: A


Rating:
Summary: praise the lord
Review: James Baldwin makes the pages sing in the vernacular of Harlem in the 50's! I enjoyed this book very much, I recommend it

Rating:
Summary: Overrated; A bit overwrought with detail
Review: 1. Succintness-- Overall, the book was sufficiently succint. The descriptions of certain things rambled on, such as the dirt in the kitchen being in "delirious communion" with dirt someplace else. The author's attempt at being cerebral seemed a bit...... labored.

2. Themes-- He doesn't spare any of his hostility toward the church, which has not been *all* bad in the black community.

3. This book is a great example of characterization. The reader is almost left with more questions going out that coming in. For example: What is evil? John was not certain of his holiness at the beginning of the book, but after his experience on the threshing-floor decided to join it. This is after we have found out about all the misdeeds of several of the members present at the service. So are we to conclude that John is just as disturbed as the others? Or are we to conclude that some characters were really better than we thought they were after all the details about the relationships come to light?

The author went a bit too far trying to find profound descriptions and metaphors. The book would have been much lighter and easier reading without them.

I hadn't picked up a fiction book in a number of years. This book reminds me why: It is so difficult to speculate as to the author's lines of reasoning when people describe abstractions. At least in a book about some real historical subject, less is left to the imagination.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: The members of the family in James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain suffer because of their color, their poverty, and the conflicts and disappointments that are part of any life. Most of all they suffer because of the demands that their intense, dogmatic religion places on them. While they love and fear God, they have little appreciation for God's creation. For them, everyone and everything in this world is carnal and corrupt. They aspire to an otherworldly existence but their nature leads them to defy God and suffer terrible guilt. They think and speak in the language of fundamentalist Christian religion: "witness," "wandering," "wilderness," "wickedness." In James Baldwin's hands, this language is beautiful but it's disturbing, too, and this short novel will not be forgotten easily.

Rating:
Summary: Redemption, Flaws and All
Review: The great truth of the Christian faith is that you are accepted just as you are... flaws and all.
Many of the great narratives in the bible include flawed but teachable people. From: Adam to Abraham to Jacob to King David, God inspired the writing of these accounts to show us he uses people just as they are and he does the work not us.
This is just the case in James Baldwin's story, Go Tell it on the Mountain.
The main character is John, a young boy just turned 14 struggling to develop his identity and to get to know God.
During the course of the story we see his family history revealed and get to know the truth that his mother and step father are very imperfect people but redeemed nonetheless.
That is what John must come to terms with. Baldwin's rendering of this internal spiritual stuggle is masterful.
The way that Baldwin reveals the truth of the family little by little is extremely well done. This story is short and packed with punch. It is a moving and thought provoking book.