Go Tell it on the Mountain
- Author James Baldwin
- Narrator Joe Morton, Roxane Gay
- Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date 1 August 2024
- Run Time 8 hours and 55 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Biographical fiction, Classic fiction, Family life fiction, Narrative theme: Coming of age, Religious and spiritual fiction.
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What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
James Baldwin's electrifying first novel.
'I had to deal with what hurt me most. I had to deal with my father.'
Drawing on James Baldwin's own boyhood in a religious community in 1930s Harlem, his first novel tells the story of young Johnny Grimes. Johnny is destined to become a preacher like his father, Gabriel, at the Temple of the Fire Baptized, where the church swells with song and it is as if 'the Holy Ghost were riding on the air'. But he feels only scalding hatred for Gabriel, whose fear and fanaticism lead him to abuse his family. Johnny vows that, for him, things will be different. This blazing tale is full of passion and guilt, of secret sinners and prayers singing on the wind.
'His prose hit me, almost winding me with its intensity. I'd never read a novel that described loneliness and desire with such burning eloquence' Douglas Field, Guardian
'A beautiful, enduring, spirtual song of a novel' Andrew O'Hagan
'[Morton] tunes into Baldwin's voice, understands his characters and knows how to bring Go Tell It on the Mountain to life for listeners. This is a timely reminder of why James Baldwin's work remains relevant and, a century after his birth, his voice must still be heard.' Entertainment Focus
©1954 James Baldwin (P)2024 Penguin Audio
Critics Review
Like many debuts, it’s autobiographical, which may explain why Baldwin was so good at rendering a child’s thoughts with adult intelligence, but without losing their raw power — right up to the chilling, Orwellian ending
It broke my heart and made me want to jump up and down… It captures an essential aspect of life in America, its contradictions and seductions, that bittersweet mix of love and hate that so many feel towards the country
His prose hit me, almost winding me with its intensity. I’d never read a novel that described loneliness and desire with such burning eloquence
Vivid imagery, with lavish attention to details
A beautiful, enduring, spiritual song of a novel
One of the few essential novelists of our time
User Reviews
| Author | James Baldwin |
|---|---|
| Narrator | Joe Morton, Roxane Gay |
| Duration | 8 hours and 55 minutes |
| Release Date | |
| ISBN | 9781802067217 |
| Format | Audiobook |
| Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Genre | Biographical fiction, Classic fiction, Family life fiction, Narrative theme: Coming of age, Religious and spiritual fiction |
| Collections | Banned Books |
| Availability | AU, GB, IE |
| Rating |
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| Narration |
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