Go Tell It On The Mountain
By James Baldwin
Vintage, 9780345806543, 2013, 272pp.
The Short of It:
A beautifully written, semi-autobiographical peek into the life of James Baldwin.
The Rest of It:
In one of the greatest American classics, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy’s discovery of the terms of his identity. 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. ~ Indiebound
James Baldwin had been coming up a lot in my book club’s various social media feeds and we had not really read him before, so when it came time to select a book, Go Tell It On The Mountain was chosen. From the short blurb above, you’d think that the story follows this young boy through his self-discovery process and it does, but there are other stories told along the way. Stories about his relationship with his step-father, how religion impacted him growing up, how the misfortune of others affected his family down the line. These stories are loosely woven together but not for one big epiphany at the end. I feel that the end is left for the reader to interpret as we all had different takes on where the character would go from there.
This story encouraged some thoughtful discussion so it worked well as a book club pick. I also enjoyed the writing. It had a flow to it that appealed to me as I was reading it and since it’s semi-autobiographical, I learned about Baldwin’s experience with the Pentecostal Church and how he struggled with his sexual identity. There’s a lot to consider here.
Have you read it?
Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.
Book Chatter 
I have had a copy of this for years and have no idea why I haven’t read it yet! Must get to it soon.
The writing is just so good.
I haven’t read any of Baldwin’s books, I am so embarrassed to admit it. My daughter has read a bunch and she has told me so much about them that I feel like I’ve read them. Not the same, I know.
Well, before my club selected this one I had not read a Baldwin book either.
I read this last December for NYTimes T Book Club…. beautifully written! I liked If Beale Street Could Talk even more and plan to keep reading Baldwin.
Someone in my group said the same thing about Beale street.
I’m hoping to read Beale St this month yet.
I’ve heard a great deal about this book. I haven’t read it though. So many books to read.
Oh, I hear ya. Had this not been picked for my book club I’d get to it eventually but it wasn’t immediately on my radar.
I’ve tended to prefer Baldwin’s nonfiction over his fiction, but it can’t be denied that his writing in all cases is absolutely stunning. I’m glad this worked for your book club!
I’ve heard a few readers say the exact same thing about his non-fiction. I must give it a try soon.
Yeah I need to read more Baldwin so I’m glad you reviewed this one. I’ve only read Beale Street but I liked it. He was such an important thinker & writer … I feel I should read all of his … I can see where Go Tell It on the Mountain … would be good for a book club