''This is the work of a born storyteller at the height of his powers'' Edmund White Washington Post When Arthur Montana world-renowned ''Emperor of Soul'' is found dead in a London pub his grief-stricken brother looks back over thirty years in the lives of their group of friends: from their childhood spent preaching and singing in Harlem churches to their struggles with war and poverty and their encounters with wealth love and fame. Set against a vividly drawn background of the civil rights movement of the sixties Baldwin''s last novel is a monumental saga that ranges from New York to Paris Korea to Africa to portray how profoundly racial politics can shape life especially in the private business of love. ''Warm melancholy. Hall Montana''s voice is the conduit for Baldwin''s most distinctive quality as a writer his abundant tenderness'' The New York Times . Language: English