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Title: Read other Baldwin books first.
Review: "If Beale Street Could Talk" is the probably the worst novel by this very important writer. Baldwin was so gifted that none of his books is a total waste of time; the scenes here that are set in church are exquisitely detailed and evocative (Baldwin had no peer when it came to writing about the black church). But the novel is wildly uneven, and one scene in particular, in which Tish and Fonny's families confront each other, reads like the script from a very bad TV show. Also, as the book progresses, Tish-- the narrator-- sounds less and less like a 19-year-old girl and more and more like a certain famous black male writer. Those seeking an introduction to Baldwin's fiction should start with "Go Tell It on the Mountain," "Another Country," "Giovanni's Room," or the vastly underrated "Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone"; for nonfiction, check out "Notes of a Native Son," "The Fire Next Time, "No Name in the Street," or "Nobody Knows My Name" -- all rewarding works.
