Book reviews

If Beale Street Could Talk
James Baldwin Book Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)
Books Movies  
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Mystery/Thriller Literature Romance Biography History
James Baldwin Books
New book search
James Baldwin Message Board
Get more information about this book
Plot Summary of If Beale Street Could Talk
"Tish and Fonny are young, black city kids in love, and Tish has become pregnant with Fonny's baby. Things start to go downhill when Fonny is accused of a crime he didn't commit. Can Tish get Fonny out of prison, or is he doomed to be executed?"
Judy Berman, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of If Beale Street Could Talk
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 1930's-1950's
Romance/Romance Problems Yes
Inside culture (main char) - Black
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Pregnancy/Child rearing Yes
Major part of story: - dealing with unexpected pregnancy
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes
Lover is - a criminal (possibly)

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - accountant
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - Black
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Main Adversary
Identity: - society

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 6 (an above average amount)
United States Yes
City? Yes
Misc setting - prison

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex in book? Yes
Unusual Style: - a lot of flashback and forwards
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to If Beale Street Could Talk
Dancing on Black Ice by Elvira Barnes
Big Girls Don't Cry by Connie Briscoe
Tell It Not In Gath by C. Vernon Hines
A Raisen in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee


Click here for more information about this book




Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Three ways to search for Literature books!

1) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot or subplot below!

Animal story

Crime & Police story

Ethnic/regional/gender life

Exploring into the wild

Family, caring for ill

Family, loving relations

Family, struggle with

Internal struggle/realization?

Job/Profession/Status story

Kids growing up/acting up?

Political/social activism

Poverty, surviving

Pregnancy/Child rearing

Religion theme?

Romance/Romance Problems

Sports Story?

War/Revolt/Disaster on civilians



or 2) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
3) Even more search options available with a Detailed Booksearch (click here)

Use our site!
Feedback
About us




Most recent discussions:

General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
.
R. Garcia Y Robertson 6:56:32 PM
Marlo Morgan 6:30:00 PM
Robert Segarra 5:12:00 PM
Dennis L. McKiernan 4:47:04 PM
Mary Downing Hahn 4:04:51 PM
Margaret Peterson Haddix 3:40:45 PM
Natasha Friend 3:14:44 PM
Deric Longden 3:02:09 PM
Lori Wick 2:04:58 PM
George W. Bush 1:36:15 PM
Suzanne Collins 12:53:56 PM
Lilian Jackson Braun 12:53:34 PM
James H. Cobb 10:05:36 AM
Sallie Bissell 11:40:33 PM
Jean M. Auel 4:37:23 PM
Eva Augustin Rumpf 4:36:38 PM
Ruth Minsky Sender 4:15:14 PM
Alice Blanchard 3:46:47 PM
Suzanne Weyn 12:05:19 PM
Sarah Dessen 6:36:17 AM

More message boards