the deep symbolism of this novel gave it such profundity; its ending was perfection— maybe it is that i am rereading hamlet once more, but baldwin’s reflections on how we leave this ‘dirty body’, and the strength we are given by waiting for the hand of god felt to me almost a suicidal anticlimax— you want david to live rather than just survive, you hope he will. the discussions baldwin prompts about sexuality, what it is to be a woman, what freedom is, what nationality is, are all handled beautifully and with such touching brevity. his abilities of description and his use of repeated motifs are just gorgeous. i hope to read more of him. it is also interesting to consider as complying to the traditional tragic form, especially within a shakespearian context.