THE STORYīaldwin tells us the story of Rufus, a Black musician who lives in New York in the 1950s. I have discovered a writer with such a mastery of language, such use of words, such lyricism and poetry in his sentences, that I cannot wait to read the rest of his books. I know that this book is fiction, and that one of the best ways to educate ourselves about racism is to read non-fiction books…but this was the book I had available. But because of the Black Lives Matter movement, I decided that June 2020 would be the perfect time to read it. “Another Country” had been sitting in my shelves for too long. James Baldwin is one of those authors I have always wanted to read but for whom, for one reason or another, I never find the time. Self-destructive, bad and brilliant, he draws us into a bohemian underworld pulsing with heat, music and sex, where desperate and dangerous characters betray, love and test each other to the limit. This mastery story of desire, hatred and violence opens with the unforgettable character of Rufus Scott, a scavenging Harlem Jazz musician adrift in New York. When Another Country appeared in 1962 it caused a literary sensation: among the storm of reviews the Sunday Times said: “Let our novelists read Mr Baldwin and tremble. Weak Point: I simply have not found any so far… Strong Point: The description of the 50s American underground music scene and of the different types who formed part of it. Year of Publication: 2001 (first published in 1962).
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