If Beale Street Could Talk (1974) by James Baldwin

1,001 Novels: A Library of America

If Beale Street Could Talk (1974)

by James Baldwin

New York: 40/105

Harlem: 7/14

     I checked this out as an Audiobook and almost immediately regretted it because this book is what you call a "Busman's Holiday" for me about a young African-American man falsely charged with raping a Puerto Rican woman, told from the perspective of his fiancé, who is, of course, pregnant with their first child.  It's also a portrait of the social fabric as it existed in Harlem in the early 1970's, Baldwin spends plenty of time with the families of both the imprisoned father to be and his betrothed.  Tish and Fonny are young, black and in love, and of course that presents a problem for the NYPD- the villain of the piece being a "red haired blue eyed" Manhattan police officer who apparently frames Fonny for a violent rape sheerly out of spit after a white shopkeeper intervenes on the couples behalf after Tish is accosted by a white junkie.

   Of course, this is all extremely old hat to me- I could tell you  about the lives of young men from African American communities ruined by a racist criminal justice system- that kind of thing was still happening in places like San Diego and Orange County when I was practicing 20 years ago, though thankfully it seems to be a thing of the past these days.   This is the third book I've read by James Baldwin- I read Notes From A Native Son just for fun and Go Tell it on the Mountain for the 1,001 Novels To Read Before You Die list.  I'm surprised I haven't read Giovanni's Room yet.    Beale Street is a good pick for the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America since it shows Baldwin depicting a slice of Harlem community but I certainly prefer Go Tell it on the Mountain if anyone is asking about my favorite James Baldwin title.