Go Tell it on the Mountain
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin, published by Penguin Books in 1991, is a New Ed edition comprising 256 pages. This haunting coming-of-age story, originally published in 1953, draws on Baldwin’s own childhood experiences in Harlem. The narrative follows John Grimes, a fourteen-year-old boy grappling with his identity while living under the oppressive influence of his stepfather, a Pentecostal preacher. Set during the Great Depression, the story unfolds over a single day, yet it captures the complexities of John’s family history and his aspirations for the future.
Readers will find a rich exploration of themes such as identity, religion, and racism woven throughout Baldwin’s lyrical prose. The novel presents a vivid portrayal of urban life and the struggles faced by African American characters, highlighting the dual nature of faith as both a source of oppression and inspiration. Baldwin’s unique narrative style combines gritty vernacular with biblical rhythms, offering a profound insight into the protagonist’s journey of self-discovery. This edition invites readers to engage with Baldwin’s pioneering contributions to American literature and the ongoing relevance of his themes.
Official synopsis Publisher
This haunting coming-of-age story, based in part on James Baldwin’s childhood in Harlem, is an American classic.
Originally published in 1953, Go Tell It on the Mountain was Baldwin’s first major work. With a potent combination of lyrical compassion and resonant rage, he portrays a fourteen-year-old boy questioning the terms of his identity. John Grimes is the stepson of a fire-breathing and abusive Pentecostal preacher in Harlem during the Depression. The action of this short novel spans a single day in John’s life, and yet manages to encompass on an epic scale his family’s troubled past and his own inchoate longings for the future, set against a shining vision of a city where he both does and does not belong. Baldwin’s story illuminates the racism his characters face as well as the double-edged role religion plays in their lives, both oppressive and inspirational. In prose that mingles gritty vernacular cadences with exalted biblical rhythms, Baldwin’s rendering of his young protagonist’s struggle to invent himself pioneered new possibilities in American language and literature.
Introduction by Edwidge Danticat
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