Another Country - James Baldwin

Three of the most difficult subjects for a writer to describe convincingly are sex, music and the creative process. Baldwin takes on all of them here and does so brilliantly in this novel about artistic types in 1960s New York.

At first we follow the compelling figure of jazz musician Rufus Thomas and, after a shocking calamity, various individuals connected to him. Loyalties shift, boundaries of sexuality and race collapse and are re-erected, and we really get to know these people well.

This was my first Baldwin, and I was hugely impressed by his talent. I'll read more.