An alternate cover edition can be found here. A national bestseller when it first appeared in 1963, The Fire Next Time galvanized the nation and gave passionate voice to the emerging civil rights movement. At once a powerful evocation of James Baldwin's early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice, the book is an intensely personal and provocative document. It consists of two "letters," written on the occasion of the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, that exhort Americans, both black and white, to attack the terrible legacy of racism. Described by The New York Times Book Review as "sermon, ultimatum, confession, deposition, testament, and chronicle...all presented in searing, brilliant prose," The Fire Next Time stands as a classic of our literature.

A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.

★ 托妮·莫里森诺贝尔文学奖获奖代表作 ★ 普利策奖最佳小说 ★ 美国文学史上的里程碑 ，《纽约时报》“25年来最佳美国小说”第1名！ ★ 要么是爱，要么不是。不浓烈的爱根本就不是爱。 ★ 一部惊世之作，很难想象没有它的美国文学会是什么样子。——《洛杉矶时报》 黑人女奴塞丝怀着身孕，只身从肯塔基的庄园逃到自由州俄亥俄，奴隶主一路循踪追来。为了使儿女不再重复自己做奴隶的命运，塞丝决然杀了刚刚会爬的幼女宠儿…… 十八年后，“宠儿”还魂，重返人间，同塞丝、塞丝的女儿，以及塞丝的情人保罗生活在同一幢房子里。她不但加倍向母亲索取爱，还纠缠和引诱保罗，甚至不择手段地要摧毁母亲的生活。 ☆ 宠儿是我的姐姐。我就着妈妈的奶水吞下了她的血。 ☆ 宠儿是我的女儿。我以前没有时间解释，因为那事必须当机立断。 ☆ 我是宠儿，她是我的。现在，我在这所房子里找到了她。我再也不会失去她了……