No snow last Tuesday. Snow every day since... Mount Wellington as viewed from Ashfield Street, Sandy Bay. July 2011. Two books this week, both excellent! If Beale Street Could Talk is James Baldwin's fifth novel. I only know Baldwin through his reputation, and after finishing this one I am kicking myself that I’ve left it so long to read one of his books. A love story set in Harlem in the early-1970s; the novel evocatively recreates a certain time, space and community. Exploring the complex interweaving of family, culture, race and justice, it strikes a lovely balance between sweet and sad; anger and forgiveness. Despite the overwhelming injustice of the story, and the anger that this injustice generates, the novel is ultimately an optimistic one. It stresses the importance of the bond between those who suffer from oppression, especially between members of a family; a bond that otherwise would not be experienced if circumstances were brighter. As society disintegrates in a collec