Go Tell It On the Mountain

By: James Baldwin

Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the most brilliant and provocative American writers of the twentieth century chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy’s spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention in this “truly extraordinary” novel (Chicago Sun-Times).

James Baldwin’s stunning first novel is now an American classic. With startling realism that brings Harlem and the Black experience vividly to life, this is a work that touches the heart with emotion while it stimulates the mind with its narrative style, symbolism, and excoriating vision of racism in America.

Moving through time from the rural South to the northern ghetto, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy’s discovery of the terms of his identity as the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Go Tell It on the Mountain is an unsurpassed portrayal of human beings caught up in a dramatic struggle and of a society confronting inevitable change.

©1981 James Baldwin (P)2013 AudioGO

Preach!

I enjoyed the story of the characters, but I expected more to happen as the book went on. Yes, it is beautifully written, but much of it consists of the sermons being given by the stepfather, and much is told in the style of a sermon. So, as I tried to listen while driving to work, I found myself tuning it out. In the end, I was glad for it to be done. The narration was excellent; It just wanted to hear more of the family's experiences and less of the fire and brimstone.

A riveting story fully realized in a masterful narration

Welcome to the world of a family struggling to better themselves by moving north. Each character has a turn at giving the reader a view of life through his or her eyes and Baldwin delivers the goods. His writing is unsparing, heartbreaking, sometimes life-affirming but always true to the bone. The narrator has found a convincing and unique voice for each character from young John to his gruff, cruel preacher father, Gabriel. Even better, there is nary a misstep with the women, and there are several. This is one of those times that narration of a great novel takes the reader/listener to an even more meaningful experience. James Baldwin's near poetry prose is sublime especially when read with such perfect pitch.

One man's paradise is another mans prison

"Go Tell It On The Mountain" is James Baldwin's masterpiece autobiographical novel that details his life being brought up in a storefront Pentecostal church.

Set in 1930's Harlem, the story is centered on 14 year old James Grimes, the stepson of a zealous and extremely violent self ordained minister who came to New York from the South in the trail of his sister who had followed a man away from the oppressiveness of Dixie.

The omnipresent demands of religious devotion collides with the reality of humanity as the lure of the flesh and the helplessness of racism endlessly challenges and vexes the Grimes family as the ghosts of frailty past ever linger on the periphery of the charismatic ecstasy of the evangelical faith that permeates their lives.

At 14, James struggles with his own sexual urges as he tries to reconcile his own desires that contradict the dictums of his religion. This, too, was the situation with James Baldwin whose homosexual inclination and the intolerance of his religious community eventually diverted him away from religion and faith.

Having likewise been raised in the Pentecostal church, I related to James' attempts to live up to the demands of the faith while simultaneously being driven away from the belief due to the ever present hypocrisy and contradiction that underlies the culture and radiates from the leadership, leaving a thinking person to conclude how illogical and irreconcilable are the realities from the ideology.

Beautifully written and well told.

💖💖💖💖💖

I completely loved this book. Such a great read! Every one should read this at least once

I really enjoyed the story

Enjoyed the story and the performers reading was quite enjoyable. The characters were very rich in depiction.

The narrator will keep you hooked in.

Not only was I able to get through all of the church stuff, usually an impossible task for yours truly, but I enjoyed it.

Breathtaking

There are not adequate words to describe the power and depth of this book. A masterpiece of American literature.

Challenging

Would you listen to Go Tell It On the Mountain again? Why?

Yes, it is a compelling story regarding the "Negro" experience in the USA from the late 40's and early 50's. Some things (too many) are unchanged.

What does Adam Lazarre-White bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His voice and dialect bring authority to the text. They make it REAL.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The constant struggles that Gabriel faces as a "man of God".

Poetic descriptions

Gorgeous writing. Fifteen is 14 too many words. 8, on the other hand, seems like a good number.

Not for me

I love James Baldwin and found many parts of this book quite powerful, especially around being a child and navigating one’s family, but overall I found this audiobook laborious and tedious. There’s very little forward-driving narrative, which would normally be fine, but after hearing so many backstories about the characters (basically 2/3 of the book is composed of “remembrances”) I expected at least some “present” action at the end to put the characters into context. This doesn’t really happen. Also, the reading / performance was bland.