Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2118761 in Books
• Published on: 1990-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 560 pages

Synopsis
Love and courage bind three extraordinary people--a former child evangelist, a famous gospel singer, and the latter's manager-brother--as they shape and are shaped by the events of the past three decades.

Customer Reviews

Baldwin's Best
You only need to read the first couple of pages in this book to understand it's importance. "Just Above My Head" combines nearly every theme covered by James Baldwin in previous novels; homosexuality, race, class, religion and betrayal - and confirms him as one of the most important writers to have come out of America.
It opens with a man mourning the death of his brother. Each sentence is filled with grief. It's clear that this isn't going to be an easy read but also clear is that Baldwin has put his heart and soul into every word.
This is simply one of the best books I've ever read. It's THE James Baldwin novel and a deserved candidate for the "Great American Novel." Stunning.

Gorgeously interesting
I bought and read this on the back of Giovanni's Room which is one of my favourite books of all time. I found this to be just as good, dealing with issues of sexuality with subtlety and deftness. The characterisation and narratives are stunning. I learned a lot about the ways in which the Southern Blacks viewed the Northern Blacks in the States - something which I was unaware of and found facscinating.
Stylistically, Baldwin would make a brilliant subject for further or deeper study; his peculiarities of syntax and structure are something you'll either love or find frustrating. So why no five stars - I found some of the philosophising passages dull and ponderous. The actual novel at 600 words could have been more rigourously edited - although I'm not adverse to a good long one, this stretched me slightly... and I actually wanted it to finish. If the emphasis had stayed more with the narrative, the stories of peanut and Crunch for example in the way that the characterisation was detailed and fluid in 'Just Above My Head', I would have been more satisfied. Try the latter first - it's more condensed and immediate with just the right mixture of horror and beauty.
All this aside, Baldwin is my find of the decade so far and the elements which prevented me from awarding this five stars will certainly not prevent me from investigating this long lost genius further. I'm amazed he's not famous, or that the narratives haven't been converted into film - perhaps symptomatic of a world which despite a superficiality of acceptance, still prefers 'gay lite' and 'black lite'.