I read Go Tell It on the Mountain and Giovanni’s Room before this, so the voice here feels very different. But I liked it! I felt drawn in by Tish’s narration.

I appreciated how loving Tish and her family are with each other. I think that can potentially be seen as unrealistic, but it felt supportive in a way my own family feels. You don’t always need tension within a family to be literary - there’s plenty of conflict outside of that in this story.

I think post #MeToo, this story feels even more tense. The intersectional aspect of it here - with a poor Black man being accused - complicates it. I thought it was handled pretty well for all that. Victoria is mostly not villainized, but seen as another victim of broken systems.

However, I do think there’s a streak of misogyny in here. Often of the “protector” type. I wasn’t sure how much Baldwin was interrogating that vs buying into it. I tried to do some research into it, but didn’t have much luck finding commentary on that. It may be a mix of both. It definitely makes it a thought provoking book.

Overall, I think the story highlights how Black love and family is so unjustly hurt by systemic racism, as well as the power that exists despite that - best put by Tish about Fonny: “He’s beautiful. They beat him up, but they didn’t beat him—if you see what I mean. He’s beautiful.”