111 quotes from If Beale Street Could Talk: ... Rate this book. If Beale Street Could Talk written by James Baldwin, was a great novel that portrayed many things nicely. Baldwin seamlessly weaves multiple topical issues like racism, police brutality, prison injustice, young love, financial struggle, class disparity, and many more between the pages of this book. If Beale Street Could Talk is a 1974 novel by American writer James Baldwin. I don't know if I can explain this. It showed the horrors of "white" society, the undeniable love between the two main characters, Fonny and Tish, and last but not least, it showed the bond between family members during hard times. Clear rating. If Beale Street Could Talk is a moving, painful story. If Beale Street Could Talk grossed $14.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $5.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $20.6 million. A comparison of James Baldwin's novel If Beale Street Could Talk and the film adaptation from Barry Jenkins, covering the differences, similarities, and which is better. A quick-reference summary: If Beale Street Could Talk on a single page. It is so vividly human and so obviously based upon reality, that it strikes us as timeless—an art that has not the slightest need of esthetic tricks, and even less need of fashionable apocalyptic excesses. Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on James Baldwin's If Beale Street Could Talk. It showed the horrors of "white" society, the undeniable love between the two main characters, Fonny and Tish, and last but not least, it showed the bond between family members during hard times. Read 2,759 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. “Being in trouble can have a funny effect on the mind. It showed the horrors of "white" society, the undeniable love between the two main characters, Fonny and Tish, and last but not least, it showed the bond between family members during hard times. If Beale Street Could Talk stars Stephan James, Regina King, KiKi Layne, and more discuss what it was like to collaborate with director Barry Jenkins and why they were so eager to join the project. The first edition of the novel was published in 1974, and was written by James Baldwin. The main characters of this fiction, classics story are , . You go through some days and you seem to be hearing people and you seem to be talking to them and you seem to be doing your work, or, at least, your work gets done; but you haven't seen or heard a soul and if someone asked you what you have done that day you'd have to think awhile before you could answer. James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk is a beautiful and heart-wrenching look at 1970s Harlem.