Short stories, even by the most talented authors, can often be hit or miss, unfulfilling, tiring. These, however, are all gorgeous and all moving. Baldwin perfectly utilised the form to capture a specific moment for each character, indicative of a much larger life and a society. Sonny’s Blues, Previous Condition and Come Out the Wilderness were my favourites but every one was equally as good as the next. Going To Meet The Man was perfect as the closing story and so difficult to read, perfectly and troublingly detailing the white man’s view of black men in America, the severity, violence, sexuality and danger involved within it. These may be perhaps more astute than many of his essays, for the way Baldwin uses characters to intertwine human emotion with the reality of society is nothing short of genius. 

To enforce his power over her he had only to keep her guilt awake. This did not demand that he have, as, in fact, he overwhelmingly did have, an instinct for his own convenience. His touch, which should have raised her, lifted her roughly only to throw her down hard; whenever he touched her, she became blacker and dirtier than ever; the loneliest place under heaven was in Paul’s arms.