Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Ein anderes Land: Roman by James Baldwin

20 reviews

kirkspockreads's review against another edition

There is nothing wrong with this book. It is just taking me forever to get through and I want to move on but don’t have the brain space for it right now. Great book, powerful writing, not the right time for me to be reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Drug use and Alcohol

catherine_thegreat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

cthulhu_calamari's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcohol

pabi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

marko_22's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Physical abuse

zeynepsiir's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I would have wanted the book to be longer and read more about the ensuing events and changing dynamics. 

I just didn’t understand how and why cheating was so normalized in this story. It made it a bit difficult to feel for the characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Emotional abuse

dizzzybrook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence

mayze's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Another amazing book by James Baldwin. Another Country tells the story of a social circle of NYC bohemians in the 1950s. Rufus a black jazz musician, Vivaldo an Irish-Italian write, Cass a wealthy liberal housewife, Ida a singer and Rufus' younger sister and Eric, an actor who just returned from some time off in France. While reading this book it's easy to understand why it's held in such high regard. The gripping writing and its clever way to interweaving different themes (racism, sexism, homosexuality/bissexuality) was decades ahead of its time and still does it better than the average book who tries to connect themes today. The characters were well written, they all have clear faults (some of them heinous) and even though none of them were overall likeable, I didn't find them particularly unlikeable either. They just felt like three-dimensional characters were the complexity and themes of the plot make some of their actions understandable from their POV. As usual, Baldwin's descriptions of NYC are very effective, you can easily picture Seventh Avenue, the dive bars the characters are fond of, coast towns in Southern France, and even how chaotic and smelly the characters' living quarters are. I highly recommend this, it's very uncomfortable at times but I feel that readers can learn a lot from it and easily put themselves in the characters' shoes even if they don't necessarily agree with their actions.

lazlio's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

williamgideon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Strangers' faces hold no secrets because the imagination does not invest them with any. But the face of a lover is an unknown precisely because it is invested with so much of oneself. It is a mystery, containing, like all mysteries, the possibility of torment."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Toxic friendship