If Beale Street Could Talk: James Baldwin (Penguin Modern Classics)

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Vlessing, Etan (July 24, 2018). "Toronto: Timothee Chalamet Starrer 'Beautiful Boy,' Dan Fogelman's 'Life Itself' Among Festival Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 24, 2018. I then got out a notepad and started a list, and every time I discovered a reference to a song in Baldwin's book, I wrote down the name of the song and artist that sang it. I eventually labeled the list, and I have duplicated the list below. (Many times, there was only one potential singer. Other times, I guessed the singer I thought Baldwin would have preferred. Naturally, I had to limit myself to performers that were alive when or before Baldwin was alive.)

Tish recounts going to church with Fonny and Mrs. Hunt one Sunday in the past. Tish agrees to go with Fonny, even though her family is Baptist and Mrs. Hunt attends a Sanctified Church. Tish considers this trip to the church as their first date, even though Mrs. Hunt was with them the whole time. Tish recalls knowing Mrs. Hunt did not like her even when she was little. Tish knows this because Mrs. Hunt never wanted Tish around at their house even though Fonny was always at hers. Tish thinks that Mrs. Hunt considers Tish as not good enough for Fonny and exactly what he deserves at the same time. Tish then meditates on her appearance, stating that she looks average and that Fonny does not bother to call her pretty and instead says that "pretty girls are a terrible drag" (18). McNary, Dave (October 25, 2017). "Colman Domingo Joins Barry Jenkins' Drama 'If Beale Street Could Talk' ". Variety . Retrieved October 25, 2017. I thought of Fonny’s touch, of Fonny, in my arms, his breath, his touch, his odor, his weight, that terrible and beautiful presence riding into me and his breath being snarled, as if by a golden thread, deeper and deeper in his throat as he rode--as he rode deeper and deeper not so much into me as into a kingdom which lay just behind his eyes. He worked on wood that way. He worked on stone that way. If I had never seen him work, I might never have known he loved me. Regina King's performance received widespread critical acclaim and earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin is a an angry and sometimes brutal love story set in the Bronx, New York. Tish and their child, Alonzo Jr., visit Fonny in prison. They share dinner together from the vending machines, while looking forward to Fonny's eventual release. who have, typically, been victimized by whites and are therefore likely subjects for a novel. The work contains many sympathetic portraits of white people, especially Fonny's harassed white lawyer, whose position is hardly better Kroll, Justin (September 13, 2017). "Barry Jenkins' New Film Finds Lead in Newcomer Kiki Layne (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved October 19, 2017.

Morales, Wilson (November 20, 2017). "Exclusive: Diego Luna Joins Barry Jenkins' Love Story "If Beale Street Could Talk" " . Retrieved November 20, 2017. a b Brown, Stacia L. (April 9, 2015). "What James Baldwin's Writing Tells Us About Today". Gawker . Retrieved 2017-07-16. James Baldwin paints a bleak picture of racism and injustice - a cry against the establishment and attitudes of 1970’s America. Tish goes home and tells her mother, Sharon, that she’s pregnant, and it goes quite well. In fact, Sharon isn’t even surprised, and she urges Tish to refrain from feeling like a “bad girl.” Later, Joseph, her father, echoes this sentiment, and Tish’s sister, Ernestine, tells her to “unbow [her] head.” After Tish’s family toasts to her pregnancy, Joseph calls Frank and tells him to come over, saying he should bring Fonny’s mother, Mrs. Hunt, and his two sisters, Adrienne and Sheila. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.Told in Tish’s voice, the story of how her and her family try to free Fonny is endlessly tragic, but also, somehow, a beautiful love story. Tish is strong and resilient, but also prudent. She is well-aware that the nightmare she is in is neither uncommon nor is it going away easily. Her family, a tight-knit group of imperfect but loving people who will try anything to help, is a stark contrast to Fonny’s, whose father is the only one who takes a part of fighting for the young man’s freedom – the very religious but heartless mother and sisters echoing Baldwin’s previous work, where characters are devoted to their Church but not to their family and community. The book’s main narrative line continues to follow Tish in the present – as she continues to visit Fonny in prison, as her family (who sees Fonny as one of their own) mobilizes to do whatever they can to get him out, and as his young white lawyer earns their trust through his apparently intensifying commitment. There are, however, several obstacles to Fonny’s freedom, including a racist police officer, a racist judge, and the woman who has accused Fonny of rape, whom everybody thinks is lying and who, much to Tish’s frustration, disappears. N'Duka, Amanda (October 30, 2017). " 'Atlanta' Star Brian Tyree Henry Joins Barry Jenkins' 'If Beale Street Could Talk' ". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved November 15, 2017. In a bar, Frank and Joseph discuss how the former is worried about paying for a child and Fonny's legal expenses, but Joseph convinces him that they will be able to provide for their grandchild the same way they provided for their own children. Baldwin arrasa con toda la maquinaria de su país: una justicia corrupta; una policía racista; una sociedad hipócrita. Muy poco se salva de su mordacidad.