A review by signeskov
Another Country by James Baldwin

dark reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

‘“Pray? Who, pray? I bet you, if I ever get anywhere near that white devil you call God, I’ll tear my son and my father out of his white hide! Don’t you ever say the word Pray to me again, woman, not if you want to live.”’

This novel is not for the easy-hearted, its main themes being racism and human estrangement. Sex, misogyny, toxic masculinity, and violence is the interwoven fabric of the story, and the characters are one big, unlikeable mass of suffering. Often, these elements of the book disgusted me or provoked some pretty heavy reactions in me. Despite Baldwin’s identity as a black gay man, one must announce that the book is still a product of its time - though this of course also adds to the historical depiction of racism and patriarchy, which definitely interested me. Finally, this is a novel that doesn’t say a whole lot as you’re sitting with it, but only truly revealed itself to me as I finished it and had left it to brew for some days.

What brings this novel up from a pretty standard 4 rating to a 4.25 is Baldwin’s writing. It is simply put immaculate, constantly blending love and hate into shattering contrasts of existential crisis, human loneliness, and, of course, racism. It is forceful, violent, and at once beautiful - and is sure to stay with its reader for a while as a literary shot of refreshment to the brain.
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