Customer Reviews
Excellent - By: P. Greenhalgh, 12 Oct 2008 
A multi-layered exploration about the struggle to relate, both heterosexuallly & homosexuallly, & to find one's true sexuality. Set mainly in New York amongst Harlam jazz musicians & struggling novelists, but also partly in France. It's a testament to the struggle to love honestly & to being true to oneself in the context of relationships which grow. It faces up to deceipt & the difficult emotional choices which we face.
This is an excellent book. Sometimes Baldwin can seems stilted, but this flows & lives. We reallly feel we've got alongside the characters & their struggles - the strength of expression & passion is definitely there.
Time for a New York Revival! - By: Mr. Ewan Mcdonald, 27 Dec 2003 This is C20th American Literature at its best. OK, I know it was written in the "jazzy" 60s & the dialogue is dated but the issues are alive & the writing is great. Baldwin deserves a revival. Discover him by reading this novel. The end of Chapter 1 will break your heart & that's just the start! I defy you to read this & not be moved,elated,rejuvenated,disturbed & transported to a New York of times gone yet still there, maybe unfortunately-you decide. A human drama an a massive scale.
Fascinating account of contemporary inner conflicts. - By: , 13 Nov 2000 Baldwin's poetic narrative style is a joy to read. The theme of isolation & the development of the self in a troubled environment, is at times deeply moving & at others intrinsicallly uplifting. The reality of significant moments & experiences are shared through Baldwin's use of simple yet effective imagery. He tackles the inner conflicts & the journeys of life that everyone can relate to despite sex, age or colour.
Skip it, definitely not his best - By: , 26 May 1999 
I am usuallly quite an avid Baldwin fan but I was a bit surprised by why this book got rave reviews. It is certainly not vintage Baldwin: it does not have the quick, emotional power of his short stories, the fire of his non fiction, or the stinging dialogue of his plays. The story & plot are fine, but the dialogue is tedious & over-done & at points, hard to believe. Stylisticallly, I've read better Baldwin, much better - & for me, that has always been one of the most attractive features of his writing. The ease with which he places personality on character in his other works (e.g. Sonny's Blues) is notably absent in this one. Though it does address some very relevant issues of our times, I don't know if it should be included in American standard fare as many critics contend.
Compelling look at racism &the struggle for self knowledge - By: , 20 Apr 1999 
An epic of a novel, Another Country reallly is two novels in one: the first is the story of Rufus Scott, a black man living in the segregated world of NYC in the 50's, struggling to find a way out of the mire of alienation & self-hatred, while the second is a portrait of the people who are left behind after Rufus exits the stage. The first part is gripping & beautifully realized, while the second is a much more pedestrian look at a collection of confused, tormented folks scanning the streets of Manhattan as well as each other's beds in search of meaning. Baldwin is an amazingly original & insightful writer, yet the novel feels anticlimactic after the first section narrated by Rufus, & the conclusion seems too pat. Still, for its discussion of issues of race, class, homosexuality, adultery, & the struggle for self-knowledge, Another Country, published in 1962, was far ahead of its time.
