And so begins my journey into Baldwin. This was my first book by the writer, and I was immediately carried away by his beautiful, emotional, and at times eviscerating prose. I knew immediately, within pages, that I was a fool for sleeping on Baldwin, that I'll be reading much more of his works. However, right before that moment, I was probably holding my breath when I realized this was a book written by a man from a woman's perspective, something that always puts me on edge. And yet, for much of the book, Baldwin inhabits the protagonist Tish so well for being written in 1974. I was impressed, and I think Baldwin creates a true sense of a character through her voice and strong relationships with her fiancée Fonny and her family.

The tragedy is that this novel remains relevant 45 years later. It's no surprise that it was adapted into a movie in 2018. New York City has changed, but what Beale Street represents hasn't. There were notes in the book that were subtly updated for the film given the passage of time, but there was no need to change the central plot: black men are still going to jail because of pervasive racism in all facets of society.

I do think it's a hopeful novel, though. The choice to tell this love story through Tish's perspective adds humanity to tragic statistics, then and now. Innocent black men going to jail doesn't just affect that black man; it affects communities—and for generations. The anger comes across on the page, but it's cut with a tenderness that made me tear up at times.