Scan barcode
cookie_khumalo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Incest, Grief, Racism, Sexual assault, Hate crime, and Rape
smemmott's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Incest, and Child abuse
tvaia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, and Grief
anawest's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism and Rape
pageglue's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Just Above My Head tells the story of a famous gospel singer, Arthur Hall, whose too soon demise shakes his family to the core. The events of his life are recalled from his brother Hall’s perspective, of how Arthur came to love Jimmy, and how Hall came to love Jimmy’s older sister, Julia, the child preacher.
The title, Just Above My Head, to me conjures up images of cigarette smoke and guillotines. Grief looms over this story like the spectre of death, but grim life too is a mean poltergeist: conscription for the Korean War disrupts young men’s plans and their well-being if they return home; our main female character Julia experiences multiple crises all at once; and Arthur is stuck between two magnetic poles of desire - being wanted for his fame, and the isolation of being gay in mid-century America.
Published in 1978, this book is THE Civil Rights Movement novel: written by one of its leaders, about specific events of the era, there’s a lot about this book that’s of its time. This is the first story I’ve read involving a character who’s a convert to the Muslim Brotherhood. And Baldwin brilliantly captures the dark, oppressive mood of the Jim Crow South; that choosing to go down there for Arthur’s gospel career is a death wish. It’s also doing a M*A*S*H thing where the plot uses the Korean War to comment on the Vietnam War.
In his nonfiction and interviews, Baldwin has always held a broad perspective of how systemic society’s issues are. But in his previous fiction books, the injustice that his characters face can often feel like isolated incidents, whereas with this one they feel indicative of the system, giving it an MLK Jr. “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” feel.
But not all is doom and gloom. The love, loyalty, and care these characters have for each other is immense, and showing that sticking it through thick and thin with people is rewarding. Or, as Kurt Vonnegut put it, “A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.”
I wouldn’t recommend this as your first Baldwin novel, as it builds heavily on his prior work. But if you have already read him, especially Go Tell It On The Mountain, then you have a lot to look forward to with this gem.
Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Incest
kn0tp0rk's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Hate crime, Incest, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Addiction, Antisemitism, Blood, Drug abuse, Death, Police brutality, and War
slacker474's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Rape, and Racism
annreadsabook's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Baldwin’s characters are each complex and flawed, and the pages are full of commentary on the social, political, and economic tides of the times. I honestly struggle to find the words to describe what an experience it was to read this book, and while it is an extremely heavy text in terms of content, I truly could not put it down. I deeply appreciated the way Baldwin portrays Black brotherly love, even against a loveless world, and I loved the pervasive influence of the Black church in this novel (much like Go Tell it on the Mountain).
Just Above My Head is a little bit of everything wrapped into one, which perhaps is why I both loved it so much but also find it hard to share here what makes it such an immersive reading experience. It’s a book that I definitely think needs to be read multiple times because it is simply so rich.
Please be sure to check out the content warnings, as this book has some graphic and heavy content.
Graphic: Racism, Rape, and Incest
clar_a's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Racism, and Homophobia
ambero's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Incest, Child abuse, Racism, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism