Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Another Country by James Baldwin

15 reviews

bg_oseman_fan's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

This book was a well written but challenging read. At times it was hard to parse the emotions of the characters, which seems so volatile. Modern readers might struggle to understand the way Baldwin writes about love and sexuality if the context of the period he is writing in is not taken into account. the human heart and mind are strange and complex creatures, and Baldwin’s writing makes clear how muddled and confusing that make our world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Alcohol

suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Took me an entire fall to read this (not intentionally, just got really busy with school and life and lost myself a bit within all of that). James Baldwin's writing is truly a blueprint— one that many nowadays try to recreate, but no one can quite capture. The authenticity, the raw naturalness of it all, and the use of songs and lyrics to enhance an experience. Another Country's beauty lies in the pure excess that makes up a lot of the book. The characters navigating new lives and settings. The exploration of bisexuality and the world. the violence that comes in heterosexual or interracial relationships. It's a beautiful book that left me thinking about so much. there are some lines that I think will never not stick with me having read them. Above all, Baldwin's talent lies in capturing the feelings of what it means to live, and what it means to feel like you haven't quite lived enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

whatisrubyreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

absolutive's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

This was a very unpleasant book full of toxic masculinity, abuse, non-consensual sex, abuse of drugs, abuse of alcohol, and frequent betrayal. The characters, though seemingly diverse--from the South, from France, from New York, of Italian heritage, Black, white, gay, bisexual--all acted the same and spoke in film-like snappy dialogue. It's too bad, because Baldwin has something important to say in this book about race and sexuality and capitalism in America's largest city just a few years before America truly became a multi-racial Democracy with the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts. But his nonfiction or even a shorter, sharper, book with more three-dimensional characters are (or would have been) more effective. The characters have no ideals, goals, values or personalities beyond violence, alcohol, lust, rage, and a Trumpian notion of "loyalty" that honours the memory of an abusive sexual assaulter because he is one of them: their brother, their friend, or their lover. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Drug abuse

tina94's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Moderate: Alcoholism and Homophobia