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Baldwin spent 13 years writing ANOTHER COUNTRY. He stated that the characters fell silent, stopped talking to him, so he let them rest and focused on his prolific and defining essays and commentaries, as well as his own travels through Europe, Africa, and Asia.

In some ways, the span of time it took to write it is evident. There are tonal shifts in this book, most notably a "set piece" in the first 80ish-pages, following the character Rufus, inspired by one of Baldwin's friends. The book sprawls over time and space, as well as character motivations and actions. It reflects a changing Harlem, with migration of southern African-Americans, immigration of Europeans to New York, class and generational conflicts, and the bohemian life of artists, writers, and musicians who have a lot of sex and do a lot of dope.

The jazz bars are a key setting in this story. Characters live in these spaces, perform in them, drink excessively in them. Hook up and break ups. Much of the ink of 320 pages is the intricate conversations and observations in this world. It's character-driven at its core. It's groundbreaking in its themes, but beautifully rendered with equal parts compassion and rage.

It's subtle, and it's sublime.

My second novel by Baldwin - I read his earlier work Giovonni's Room several years ago - and this one is deeper, but also bigger in scope.

I read and reread paragraphs and pages of this book. It seemed like Baldwin had the ability to stop time and give the reader 360° access to this world.