Desu is the present positive form of 'be': is. Ka is a question marker when the last sound in a sentence. Japanese grammar also puts desu at the end of sentences. So 'desu ka' is just a combination of the two. I could mean 'isn't it', but that's just a lose translation, I believe.
Notes of a Native Son (1955) is James Baldwin's first book, a collection of essays that are an autobiographical exploration of his experiences growing up in Harlem, his travels in Europe (and the... In the book Native Son, is Bigger's lawyer Max Jewish?
Native Son has been filmed twice; once in 1951 and again in 1986. The first version was made in Argentina. Wright, aged 42, played the protagonist despite being twice the age of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas.