Just Above My Head by James Baldwin
This remarkable, unforgettable tale begins with the raw sadness of a brother who is mourning a sibling. James Baldwin returns to Harlem, the church from his landmark novel Tell It on the Mountain, the forbidden love from Giovanni’s Room, and the political wrath that fuels his nonfiction work in this colossal narrative of love and rage. The gospel singer Arthur Hall’s family’s tale also serves as a contemporary history of black struggle in our country and a journey into another country of the senses.
Just Above My Head by James Baldwin
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The plot of the book is set up with the main character, who is also the narrator, relating the account of his beloved and charismatic little brother Arthur, who is gay and exudes an aura that, along with his extraordinary musical abilities, allows him to have a successful career as a singer. It’s a remarkable tale of how siblings manage to stay in love with one another in the face of numerous challenges. It also discusses the beauty of Arthur and his former bandmate Crunch’s sexual love. It’s a beautiful book, but it’s also quite a dark one.
James Baldwin was a fantastic author. Baldwin was a poet as well as a novelist, similar to Tennessee Williams in the theatre. His text has a musical cadence in JUST ABOVE MY HEAD, and this works particularly well with the story’s central character, Arthur Montana, a Black gay Gospel musician, and his devoted and protective family.
This epic tale of a life lived to the fullest extends from the years between World War II and Korea and the horrors of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and is told in the first person by Arthur’s older brother Hall.
