Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Another Country by James Baldwin

22 reviews

thecatsgrave's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

everybody get gay right now!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Suicide

astrozombies's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

as a first endeavor into baldwin’s work, i fear i may have bit off a bit more than i could chew.
the writing is phenomenal. every sentence evokes powerful emotion, which is probably part of why it took me so long to finish; yet still, i don’t feel like i’m done. i imagine this book is one i’ll have to revisit later to fully grasp the themes baldwin is trying to explore, as well as to understand the motivations of some characters, especially regarding rufus and his treatment of leona.
i think it was very moving to see how rufus was the connecting force between every character—even past chapter one—and how he motivated the actions of characters like vivaldo and ida especially.
it was frustrating, however, to watch as every character chose the worst decision to make at any given opportunity. the almost universal mistreatment of every female character and non-character was also difficult to parse beyond “well, they kinda were universally mistreated at this time” so maybe that was the point.
nevertheless, this book was a monumental emotional effort that i feel glad to have read, and i’m excited to see how baldwin’s other works fare. maybe after a bit of a break, though. lol

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Sexual content

julela's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

_m_a_r_a's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

4.0

It is impressive the depth of social political analysis Baldwin can lay bare within characters that feel still contemporary and in some ways relatable. There is a balance of universality and specificity. It was interesting to read the short introduction after finishing the book which ties Baldwin real life experience to certain aspects of the novel. 

The first chapter was difficult to read due to the graphic scenes of sex, domestic violence and extreme misogyny (which continues throughout the book but not to the same intensity) but it is also required to build the context of the time and place the novel is set. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicide

freckled_frog_boi's review against another edition

5.0

This is probably the most raw depiction of love (in its many forms: familial, sexual, platonic, etc) I've ever seen. It's a mess. It's angry. It's heartbreaking. It's disgusting. Of it's time and also transcends it. 

I was going to originally start this review with "messy bitches doing their messy bitch activities" but I think we find a lil bit of ourselves, maybe the parts we dislike the most, in these characters in some form. Turns out, we were the messy bitches all along. That said, everyone in here could benefit from a few years of therapy and couple's counseling. An intervention or two. 

This definitely warrants a reread, and I highly recommend listening to the music mentioned in the book while reading. It's such a curated vibe that Baldwin put together that I fear I will never hear Cigarettes and Coffee by Otis Redding without thinking about this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

cmcrockford's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Going full five here, the last fifty to sixty pages are just extraordinary writing about love and race and sex and fidelity and really salvation. So far this is the best Baldwin novel I've read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit

This must have driven people in 1962 into an absolute frenzy.

emgici's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

Misoginia innecesaria.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

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

jlchabotte's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide

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.