Reviews

Another Country by James Baldwin

lynecia's review against another edition

3.0

A cornucopia of themes, (love, the price of love...) character development (a group of friends are on a journey of self discovery in 1950s? (60s?) New York) and commentary (race, sexuality, gender...)but not much plot. That is fine with me, but I slogged through this one. A reading slump ensued and It took me a month to get through it, which I'll admit detracted from my overall reading experience. As a reader, I feel like I'm either only walking around the periphery of what Baldwin was trying to accomplish here, (and I do feel like I want to re-read) or I just didn't like it as much as I wanted, which disappoints me because my love for Uncle Jimmy is so great.

babyslayer's review

dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

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

4.0

"You've got a bad case of penis envy" is the funniest thing I've ever heard

chassagnek's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

bookish_alone's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

Truly an enchanting read. Made me slow down and just soak every single word in, taking everything fully. Loved it so much. 

elyseyost's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

The prose is beautiful and thoughtful. The dialogue between characters is so natural and flows better than most other books I’ve read. Baldwin has a way of revealing his characters and their motivations so artfully throughout the story, while simultaneously revealing truths about their social and cultural fabric. He addresses the most daunting social and personal conflicts. His writing is a poignant observation of the world. 

 

That being said, there were parts that were really hard to get through because of the misogyny, which is entrenched in not only the character’s, but (I would argue) Baldwin’s mindset as well. It was kind of disturbing how often people, mostly women, were described as “like a child” or “like a little girl” during sexual scenes. Baldwin also seems to have given all the women in the novel some weird fantasy about being “overtaken” and “forced” by men that comes too close to rape in my opinion. 

kian_bri's review against another edition

reflective 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

4.5

hannahvandriel's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

suburbskid's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.75

modernlove5's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

A bit slow at times but deeply affecting.

a2lulu's review against another edition

3.0

I'm a fan of Baldwin's other writing, but I was disappointed by this book, although I'm glad I read it. There's an interesting article in the New Yorker from 2009 that articulates some of my reaction. The only thing I'd add is that the portrayals and attitudes toward women were problematic at times and the incestuousness of the friend group seemed over the top to me.

"A sprawling book that brought together Baldwin’s concerns with race and sex, its daring themes—black rage, interracial sex, homosexuality, white guilt, urban malaise—make an imposing backdrop for characters who refuse to come to life. A black jazz musician who plummets into madness because of an affair with a white woman; a white bisexual saint who cures both men and women in his bed—the social agenda shines through these figures like light through glass. More than anything else, the book reveals Baldwin’s immense will and professionalism; like the contemporary best-sellers “Ship of Fools” and “The Group,” it suggests a delicate and fine-tuned talent pushed past its narrative limits in pursuit of the “big” work. Baldwin claimed to be going after the sound of jazz musicians in his prose, but aside from some lingo on the order of “Some cat turned her on, and then he split,” the language is stale compared with his earlier works—or compared with the burnished eloquence of his next book, which shook the American rafters when it was published, in early 1963."

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/02/09/another-country