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  • Published: 27 October 1994
  • ISBN: 9780141963808
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 608

Just Above My Head



James Baldwin first wrote about homosexuality in his famous early novel, Giovanni’s Room. Here he brings homosexuality and race together in the story of the great gospel singer Arthur Montana. Arthur was found dead in the basement of a London pub at the age of thirty-nine, yet he lies on in this memoir. Written by Hall, his brother and manager, it is in part a subtle and moving study of the treacherous ebb and flow of memory.

Set against a vividly drawn background of the civil rights movement of the sixties, Just Above My Head explores how Arthur discovers his love for Jimmy - 'with his smile like a lantern and a voice like Saturday nights’ - and portrays how profoundly racial politics can shape the private business of love.

  • Published: 27 October 1994
  • ISBN: 9780141963808
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 608

About the author

James Baldwin

Born in 1924 in New York City, James Baldwin published the 1953 novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, going on to garner acclaim for his insights on race, spirituality and humanity.
Other novels included Giovanni's Room, Another Country and Just Above My Head as well as essay works like Notes of a Native Son and The Fire Next Time. Having lived in France, he died on December 1, 1987 in Saint-Paul de Vence.

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