Eight stories that reveal the visible and invisible forms of racism: in those who suffer it, those who practice it, and those who look the other way.
“There is no way not to suffer. But you try all kinds of ways not to drown in despair.” The men and women in these eight stories understand this truth, and their tales illustrate the clever and often desperate ways they try to stay afloat. A fading jazz pianist who needs heroin to face his terror of pouring his life into an inanimate instrument. A God-fearing father who cannot forgive his son for being illegitimate. A Black woman in love with a white man who knows he will leave her. A racist Southern sheriff’s deputy who has blindfolded himself to soften the horrible childhood memory of the day his parents took him to watch a jubilant mob murder a Black man. These are some of the stories collected in this essential volume to understand the universe of the African American genius and the central themes of his work: French exile and fear of return, the stormy relationship with his father and religion, hidden or repressed homosexuality, belonging to American culture, the ongoing racist threat, and the false consciousness that stems from it. James Baldwin goes straight to the point with a lucidity and harshness that are sometimes painful. The boldness with which he writes and the recklessness with which he crosses the boundaries of what can be expressed leave an indelible mark on our memory.
“His prose emits a long, piercing cry as it takes off from the page like a fighter jet on a mission to drop a load of explosive truths over enemy territory, flying fast and low, risking hostile and friendly fire.”
The Guardian
“If Van Gogh was our revered artist of the 19th century, James Baldwin is that of the 20th century.”
Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient
