Unforgettable short stories that paint a portrait of mid 20th century race relations . This portrait, stark and difficult to look at, is richly hewn from the thoughts and interactions of the characters. Some stories were sad, such as "Sonny's Blues", others surprising, such as "Man Child", and others, disturbing ...most notably "Going to Meet the Man".
This collection may have themes and images that will sear your brain make you shudder, but it will also make you think and search your soul. ( )

8 adult short stories.

It was seemingly Baldwin’s life purpose to write these books about blacks and their outrageous treatment by whites.

Baldwin died in 1987. He described the condition and treatment of blacks in the US as he had experienced them. I trust that all this has greatly improved since then, but I can’t be certain.

In Baldwin’s prose the n-word is used continually. Surprisingly, the blacks themselves use it about and to each other – “You dirty black n-----”.

This collection of short stories is the best fiction of Baldwin’s that I’ve read.

I didn’t understand The Man Child and the reason for the murder at the end.

I would really need to re-read the stories to properly appreciate them.

Understandably, most of Baldwin’s writing expresses the brutality he saw among the blacks in Harlem where he lived.

In my view, the best story in collection was the last one, Going to meet the man. It was also the most terrible. It shows how a little white boy, Jesse, taken to witness the lynching of a black man, grows up to to be a deputy sheriff who beats and tortures his black prisoners practically to the point of death. “They were animals, they were no better than animals, what could be done with people like that?”

The lynching itself is depicted graphically and horribly.

If you feel like beginning to read some of Baldwin’s fiction, this is a good place to start. ( )

Classic adult fiction

Whew! I've put off reading Baldwin - having 1st heard of him as much as 35 yrs ago. This was everything I expected it to be.. & more. I was expecting devastating looks at American racism & that was certainly there - esp in the sickening title story. But there's much, much more. The sensitiveness of the language is on a par w/ Nabokov. There were so many points that I cd relate to. Baldwin articulates everything in such a clear-headed way - he makes the characters so easy to feel - even the horrific ones. I doubt that I'll ever say anything about Baldwin that hasn't already been sd by many others - so I'm just glad to be able to add my small voice to those who've praised him.

Each of these 8 stories is significantly different - while still sharing realism. It was the fictional realism that contributed to my putting off the reading. It seems that in fiction I prefer transcendent formal absurdist imagination to realism & wd rather just read political essays when it comes time to take a hard look at the hard subjects of racism & human nature.. BUT, that sd, thank goodness for Baldwin b/c he says what oh-so-desperately-needs-to-be-sd in the fictional form that's likely to reach the most people - & I reckon he's as famous as he is b/c he did it so well.

AGAIN, sensitive, sensitive, sensitive: I 'liked' it all (if the word 'liked' can be used in reference to the stories of terrifying cruelty & brutality), I felt it all. There was "This Morning, This Evening, So Soon" - a black American has the good sense & the good fortune to go to France where he becomes a reknowned singer & actor - like so many black American jazz musicians did - to the shame of a country traditionally oblivious to & hateful to culture. This story covers so much: simple personal things like love w/in a family, the main character's relationship to the white French director who's had more than his own share of tragedy, the French mistreatment of an African aquaintance, the subtle difficulties of black American tourists in relation to the latter in relation to the main character in relation to the director in relation to France in relation to the US. All handled beautifully. ( )