"The rain poured down like a wall." (James Baldwin)

"He walked to the window and peeked out through the blinds, The rain poured down like a wall. It struck the pavements with a vicious sound, and spattered in the swollen gutters with the force of bullets. The asphalt was wide and white and blank with rain. The gray pavements danced and gleamed and sloped. Nothing moved -- not a car, not a person; and the rain was the only sound. He forgot about going to the store, and merely watched the rain, comforted by the anonymity and the violence -- this violence was also peace."

SOURCE: "Another Country" (James Baldwin)

The back cover of the paperback has a blurb that reads, "The place is Manhattan. The novelist is James Baldwin, creating unforgettable characters, both black and white, to tell the glaring truth about sex and race ..." Written in the late '50s, Baldwin's novel was extremely controversial for its candid examination of racial issues and its graphic depictions of sexual activity especially the homoerotic sequences. It is still a powerful read. This brief segment gives some sense of the power of Baldwin's writing with words that convey both the physical and psychological aspects of the rain.