A dark and mesmerizing study of race, sexuality, and culture in the late fifties New York City. A handful of characters live and die and teach each other (sometimes unwittingly) what it means to love, to hate, and to matter. I read this because the incredible Chris Abani wrote that it was a formative book for him, and I completely understand now his fascination with Baldwin's approach to human interaction and life. It is a timeless study of people fixed firmly in a different era.