Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Otro país by James Baldwin

27 reviews

fynn_jls's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Homophobia and Sexual content

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

---

Content Warnings

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

pupaebug's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This is my fourth James Baldwin novel. I have been in love with his writing style for a while now. Baldwin captures intimacy and the human condition with so much complexity and tenderness, and in a way that makes reading from other writers just absolutely pale in comparison. 

This book is the Baldwin novel I felt most excited to read since Giovanni's room. This novel was really slow at first. It took me a while to become interested in the large cast of characters, and the somewhat nonlinear narrative at the beginning of the book. 

However, after the third act, when Eric came back to NYC, I couldn't put the book down. This book felt so ahead of its time in its discussion of the nuances of race and sexuality in intimate relationships. Every single character was struggling with something, and every single character had made mistakes and done things that hurt other people, but I loved and I understood all of them. Baldwin does an incredible job of giving his characters such humanity and depth. 

I also loved the way that this book started slowly, then everything began to simmer until the tension between the characters became so unbearable that everything came out at a climax toward the end of the book. At the beginning, when I felt I was being introduced to the characters and their intricacies and relationships with one another, I could put the book down and not think about it for a while. But once shit hit the fan per say, I needed to consume every word on the page, insatiably. It was an unexpectedly riveting story.

Anyway, I loved this book and these characters. This was a beautiful story of Blackness, Whiteness, masculinity, bisexuality,

infidelity

, and love, and it was a deeply touching look at humanity through these complicated and messed-up people.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Rape, Racism, Grief, and Homophobia

Minor: Drug use

rheagoveas's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Suicide and Homophobia

emlibe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Alcohol, and Homophobia

Minor: Rape

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

---

Content Warnings

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

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.

reubs's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Rape, and Racism

lauralfp's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Sexual content

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

omarglez's review against another edition

dark reflective tense slow-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

4.75

After the first major movement, I found myself with countless questions about where Baldwin would go from this point forward. Thenn, Baldwin begins to unfold and explore race through love of all things, the one subject that has bewildered humans since the start of time. Stripping each character to there bones and inner thoughts, Baldwin writes about the bounds of human connection and the influence self-identity plays in such connections. The intersectionality that shapes, weights, and uplifts us the most often is but invisible; Baldwin however, brings these intersectionalities to the surface and exposes what can happen when we allow ourselves to exist. First read of the year--a stuck writer, one that sellsout, a delirous jazz drummer, a mournful singer, and a lost actor are pulled together after a life shaking event.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Addiction, Suicide, Alcoholism, and Classism

alexandrawells's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Racism