“There’s no way not to suffer. But you try all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it.” - James Baldwin
Going to Meet the Man is a collection of eight short stories by James Baldwin. I’ve read two of his essay collections but this is my first time reading any of his fiction. Themes that show up in these stories include identity, family, religion, love, racism, and bigotry.
When I first flipped through the pages I got a little nervous. I saw a lot of long paragraphs. It’s been my experience that long paragraphs are usually slow and boring. Luckily that wasn’t the case here. My one critique is that most of the stories took a few pages to get started. Once things were set up I was drawn into each story though. James Baldwin writes beautifully.
These five stories had the strongest impact on me:
“The Man Child”
“Previous Condition”
“Sonny’s Blues”
“This Morning, This Evening, So Soon”
“Going to Meet the Man”
Out of those five, “Sonny’s Blues” and “This Morning, This Evening, So Soon” were my favorites.
“Sonny’s Blues” is about a man trying to reconnect with his younger brother who struggled with drug addiction in the past. The older brother is skeptical of his younger brother’s desire of becoming a musician. When the older brother suggests something more practical the younger brother responds with “I think people ought to do what they want to do, what else are they alive for?”
“This Morning, This Evening, So Soon” is about a successful black actor/singer who is nervous about returning to the United States after having lived in France for many years. Like a lot of Baldwin’s fiction, this one seems based on his own life experiences. I thought of James Baldwin’s debate with Paul Weiss on the Dick Cavett show while reading this story. During the debate he mentions how moving to another country saved his life. It’s worth a watch:
The blurb on the back cover does an excellent job of describing this collection:
“By turns haunting, heartbreaking, and horrifying — and informed throughout by Baldwin’s uncanny knowledge of the wounds racism has left in both it’s victims and perpetrators…”
Two of the stories are incredibly dark, but there’s a haunting beauty in all the others.
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