Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

James Baldwin's semi-autobiographical novel Go Tell It on the Mountain was published in 1953. Go Tell It on the Mountain was ranked 39th on the Modern Library's list of the 100 best English-language novels of the twentieth century in 1998. Time Magazine named the novel one of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005.

Baldwin, considered one of the greatest Black authors of all time, wrote a slew of novels, biographies, and essays during his lifetime. However, there is no better place to begin than with his first book, Go Tell It on the Mountain. Baldwin tells the story of Johnny Grimes growing up in 1930s Harlem, grappling with his religion, sexuality, and his abusive minister father, drawing on his own childhood. Though this novel has a lot to say about race, religion, class, and sexuality, it does so in a way that respects the complexities of the human experience. This novel is a blazing, enduring hymn.

Link to read: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17143