Reviews with content warning for Rape - Another Country

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Another Country by James Baldwin

27 reviews

beansrowning's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

4.0

It's not really up my alley as a romance-driven novel (and as cis-gendered white male), but as a fan of Baldwin I read it with no prior research.

Some of the themes were particularly challenging, bordering on the misogynistic. I think some of these more shocking depictions work well because they force the reader to consider the trials and tribulations of Rufus in the context of his life and the realities of a black man living in those times, and I found that my initial opinion had shifted as I read on, a great signal of a thought provoking novel.

Unfortunately, there is still relevance today concerning white liberalism and LGBTQ acceptance.

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dizzzybrook's review against another edition

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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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pupaebug's review against another edition

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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.

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