This is foreshadowed by the readers knowledge that the high does not last, thanks to the layout of the time periods during the novel. Even in the passages of joy, there are always snatches of darkness. In the background of the coolness of Rufus, there are notions of gloom. As we witness the seduction of Leona, Baldwins’ prose of description opens many possibilities of perception. We are also introduced to his sister ‘Ida’ and a former lover called ‘Leona’. The novel opens with the ineffaceable character of Rufus Scott, who is introduced to us as a homeless, washed up, black, jazz drummer who had “fallen so low that he scarcely had the energy to be angry.” He is walking around New York, “entirely alone, and dying of it.” In these opening chapters, Baldwin also takes the reader back to life prior to this miserable period, as a self-confident, easy-going, understated musician.
They are presented without judgment, leaving the role of assessment to the readers. Colour, sexuality, fear, discrimination, violence, hatred, uncertainty, guilt, infidelity and love in all its dimensions are among the themes presented to us by Baldwin. Any book that is remotely associated with jazz music or the 1960’s is a straight win (except for “ The Axeman’s Jazz“, although this is apparently an unpopular opinion…) so Another Country, which is a masterly story following the bohemian world of a Harlem jazz musician adrift in New York in 1962, seemed a reliable pick.īaldwin has written a realist novel that hauntingly exposes humanity. The hard choice, which took around 20 minutes to decide, was between this or Lolita– and I finally settled on the former due to the mention of ‘ jazz musician’ on its blurb (I am aware of this strange criteria). Another Country is the first Baldwin book I have read.