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A couple of things, mostly outside of the book, compounded to make this a tough read. Like Giovanni's Room which I read last year, Go Tell It on the Mountain builds a mounting tension that holds until the end. Each character is painted into the story with care, with very deliberate strokes. I believe I already knew that it drew from autobiographical elements, but, even if I hadn't, there is a strong sense in the text where, even without confirmation, I would've suspected its story of being wrought from such a well. And it is such a well. I first became interested in Baldwin's work after reading this line from him, largely out of context: You want to write a sentence as clean as a bone. What bones they are. I find myself wishing I was a better reader before I started reading his work, the better to appreciate it. It's better to read than to not, I think - ready, or not.



Now I'm reading A Snake Fell to Earth by Darcie Little Badger. Back soon with an update emotion_yatta