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Another Country Audiobook
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(4.46) - 67 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Published in 1962, this is an emotionally intense novel of love, hatred, race, and America in the 1950s.
Set in Greenwich Village, Harlem, and France, among other locales, Another Country tells the story of the suicide of jazz musician Rufus Scott and the friends who search for an understanding of his life and death, discovering uncomfortable truths about themselves along the way. It is a novel of passions—sexual, racial, political, artistic—that is stunning for its emotional intensity and haunting sensuality, depicting men and women, blacks and whites, stripped of their masks of gender and race by love and hatred at the most elemental and sublime. In a small set of friends, Baldwin imbues the best and worst intentions of liberal America in the 1950s.
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"Of the four Baldwin novels I've read, this is so far my least favorite. I admit that the character's brutal flaws may have something to do with this, they were largely unlikeable. As does how disturbing I found Baldwin's bold and honest take of racial tension mixed up with gender and sexual tension was bold, honest, and disturbing. But also nagging at me is the feeling that his writing felt more difficult, like he wanted to make such a strong statement and these is so much to say and he wanted to get it all into this book, and, well, that is a daunting task for any writer, including Baldwin. Also, I don't know whether it was intentional, but there was an aura of superficiality hovering over what was presented as close friendship it made most of the character's relationships unbelievable. I don't know if this was intentional on Baldwin's part. Probably. But for me, it seemed a flaw."
— Mmars (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Dion Graham’s low-key performance is a great way to re-read Another Country and imagine this world all over again.”
— BookRiot (audio review) -
“James Baldwin has grown into the wise, guiding elder of the United States’s fractured racial conversation…Baldwin’s Another Country, published in 1962, a year before The Fire Next Time, is the novel that plays out his conflicting visions of interracial intimacy. The story taps a deep well. The drama of severely injured friendships and sexual relationships can be read as an allegory of a brutal struggle within America’s collective racial and sexual psyche.”
— Los Angeles Review of Books -
“Despite its dated lingo and moral standards, this classic audiobook feels both fresh and potent. One reason is the narration of Dion Graham, whose velvet intonation is a perfect match for this novel. The other reason for its freshness might be Baldwin’s nonjudgmental style—particularly in regard to the racial and sexual tensions…Baldwin’s encapsulation of late ’50s Greenwich Village seems spot on, like a perfectly preserved diorama. It’s hard to believe that it’s taken almost five decades to bring this epic story to audio, but this classy unabridged recording is definitely worth the wait.”
— AudioFile -
“Brilliantly and fiercely told.”
— New York Times -
“An almost unbearable, tumultuous, blood-pounding experience.”
— Washington Post -
“A novel that explores the interconnectedness of the character’s lives and how easily things can get tangled up. Baldwin has influenced a whole generation of queer writers and remains one of the greats.”
— BookRiot
Awards
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New York Times bestseller
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Nominated as a PBS Great American Read selection
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A BookRiot Pick of Classics Best Experienced in the Audiobook
Another Country Listener Reviews
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" I read Another Country when I was in my early thirties and wanted to revisit it twenty years later. It holds up and even seems oddly modern because of the racial and LGBT themes. The characters are rich and interesting, and the complications of interracial relationships and the struggles of Black people in America come to the fore and illustrate what a tangled mess we have created with our inability to allow everyone access to the American Dream. I recommend this book and all of Baldwin’s work. "
— Poet, 6/16/2020 -
" New York in the early 70s. Jazz. Drugs. Interracial sex. Gay sex. Falling from grace. Outstanding prose. It's sexy and probably one of the best books I have ever read. "
— Xavier, 2/12/2014 -
" This book was just as wonderful and intriguing as the first time I read it. Listening to the audio version lended a new dimension to the work. Complex characters, magnificent passages, and difficult themes make this a classic worth going back to from time to time. "
— Christine, 2/12/2014 -
" His writing goes straight to the matter of relationships. Each complex and all enriched and troubled by sexuality, class, race, geography,and gender. A truly good read if you are open to being uncomfortable and willing to leave behind your "moral" high-ground. I truly enjoyed it! "
— Catherine, 2/5/2014 -
" I read over half of it and had no desire to finish it. "
— Jennefer, 1/28/2014 -
" My first Baldwin - and eternally my favorite. "
— Kat, 1/24/2014 -
" I discovered James Baldwin at the age of 17.I was mesmerized by his sensitive writing of which I only barely understood. I was aware that my life would be changed from that day forward The author wrote about his life. The brutal sexuality, the deep passion and the anger that surrounded everyone. How he turned this emotional turmoil into an ending filled with such love and tenderness was remarkable. This man and his books will always be with me.. "
— Joni, 1/17/2014 -
" This Baldwin novel really affected me, more than any of the others, when I read it for the first time in 2004. "
— Cole, 1/14/2014 -
" Hands down one of my favorite books. Human, real, tragic, beautiful.. and set in NYC! "
— Alison, 1/12/2014 -
" I really want to reread this book--a classic! "
— Ania, 12/6/2013 -
" Good book, a little over-dramatic in the way of 60s tv movies, but it painted a picture of NY bohemian life that was interesting to me. And some of the character development really struck a chord. "
— Hallie, 11/27/2013 -
" The expressive nature of Baldwin's writing is simply captivating prose. His foray into homosexual issues is also groundbreaking for it's time and tone. "
— Rennard, 10/8/2013 -
" Beautifully written. Love the language. "
— Hayleigh, 10/8/2013 -
" baldwin is poetic and incomparably eloquent in his prose. he conveys emotions in an eerily relatable way, almost as some sort of prophet. he is all-knowing in every perspective he narrates, in every relationship, of every kind. deserves to be read multiple times. "
— Lauren, 9/30/2013 -
" What I learned changed my life. How it feels -how it lives-to be black in a white country. shattering. "
— Rena, 9/19/2013 -
" This is one of my favorite books ever. "
— Becky, 7/9/2013 -
" I really liked this book - Baldwin's language is so forceful it was almost a physical experience. His character's voices rang so true, too, that it was almost unbearably personal to read. "
— Alec, 8/22/2012 -
" A million fractured reflections of myself. His brevity I worship. No other writer and work courageously faces the american psychology. His descriptions of New York City still ring true to this day. "
— Artemisa, 8/19/2012 -
" heartbreaking and sweeping, but tender and intimate "
— Kanyi, 8/17/2012 -
" one of the best novels i have ever read. paints a clear picture of racial/sexual relations in the united states. "
— Crystal, 6/6/2012 -
" simply one of the best books i've ever read. a must read if you have a heart that beats for love and/or manhattan. "
— Jeff, 3/18/2012 -
" i love james baldwin. this book is like a soap opera but there are so many profound ideas in it, i didnt mind. "
— Luke, 3/3/2012 -
" Way ahead of his time! "
— Carol, 9/9/2011 -
" Achingly beautiful as much as it is filled with cold hard truth, "Another Country" jumps from character to character - black and white, men and women - to give the reader a portrait of a desperate society, in which hope nevertheless still springs up occasionally. "
— Danielroffle, 5/17/2011 -
" James Baldwin is amazing. "
— Kirsten, 4/20/2011 -
" Way ahead of his time! "
— Carol, 3/27/2011 -
" Great novel! Baldwin's characters are alive and real! "
— Haroun, 2/16/2011 -
" It's really great when you thoroughly enjoy a book that you are asked to read for uni which you wouldn't have otherwise picked up, or necessarily have heard of. <br/>This was just a really great read, very interesting with really engaging and unusual characters. "
— Sarah, 1/30/2011 -
" Forgot how amazing Baldwin is. Am loving this 9 years after the first read. <br/> <br/>A well-written soap opera. Baldwin's characters tell us to check our assumptions and our judgments. Race, sexuality and gender are not simple ever. <br/> <br/>A must read! "
— Chalida, 1/26/2011 -
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— George, 1/8/2011 -
" Awesome audio book. Great story...One of my favorites. "
— Jose, 1/3/2011 -
" Desolate. Passionate. Searching.<br/>An absolutely beautiful read. "
— Alissa, 12/8/2010 -
" It was a required read. Didn't care for it much. "
— Marsha, 12/7/2010
About James Baldwin
James Baldwin (1924–1987), acclaimed New York Times bestselling author, was educated in New York. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, received excellent reviews and was immediately recognized as establishing a profound and permanent new voice in American letters. The appearance of The Fire Next Time in 1963, just as the civil rights movement was exploding across the American South, galvanized the nation and continues to reverberate as perhaps the most prophetic and defining statement ever written of the continuing costs of Americans’ refusal to face their own history. It became a national bestseller, and Baldwin was featured on the cover of Time. The next year, he was made a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters and collaborated with the photographer Richard Avedon on Nothing Personal, a series of portraits of America intended as a eulogy for the slain Medger Evers. His other collaborations include A Rap on Race with Margaret Mead and A Dialogue with the poet–activist Nikki Giovanni. He also adapted Alex Haley’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X into One Day When I Was Lost. He was made a commander of the French Legion of Honor a year before his death, one honor among many he achieved in his life.
About Dion Graham
Dion Graham is an award-winning narrator named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine. He has been a recipient of the prestigious Audie Award numerous times, as well as Earphones Awards, the Publishers Weekly Listen Up Awards, IBPA Ben Franklin Awards, and the ALA Odyssey Award. He was nominated in 2015 for a Voice Arts Award for Outstanding Narration. He is also a critically acclaimed actor who has performed on Broadway, off Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series. He is a graduate of Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, with an MFA degree in acting.