Another Zoom meeting with – I’m delighted to say – one new person (Matt) and one person returning after a long absence (Michael). Welcome and welcome back!
Since our last meeting, Quinn had had a significant birthday so we all sang happy birthday which, as happened last time, is a complete debacle over Zoom. Nonetheless, there’s a lovely sentiment that goes with it.
Our book, Go Tell It On The Mountain, by James Baldwin was a very hot topic of discussion. I found it a very difficult book to read, full of violence, oppression and stifling social roles. There’s a lot of biblical references in the books and I think if my bible knowledge was better then I could have linked some of the characters’ names to deeper connections in there. The biblical links run much deeper than that in the book and in many ways, this is the story of the struggle between father and son, as well as a less-than-successful redemption from sin . While the prose was sometimes a bit stilted, the dialogue was fantastic – it had a real ring of authenticity and rose off the page.
There’s a heavy emphasis on the contradiction in the church, marking out starkly the difference between the salvation that’s offered but also the power trip that’s granted to the elders. The hypocrisy between the actions of the ministers contrasted against what they demand from their congregation is also held up plainly. The ability of the minister to grant himself absolution from the sins that he’s committed are quite something, especially after he’s been so harsh on himself about his transgressions for so long.
There were a couple of documentaries recommended about James Baldwin but one seemed of particular note,I Am Not Your Negro.
We need to improve the process of picking a new book. It was over half an hour of going around in circles but we eventually settled on Broken Glass by Alain Mabanckou. Coincidentally, Mabanckou also wrote a biography of James Baldwin, Lettre à Jimmy.
I don’t know whether we’ll still be in lock down for the next book group meeting. It’ll be a funny thing to actually get back to seeing people face to face again.
