Why people recommend it
Another Country by James Baldwin is a complex and unflinching 1962 novel that explores the turbulent intersections of race, sexuality, identity, and bohemian life in Greenwich Village and Paris. On The Book Review podcast, guest Nicholas Boggs named the novel as his favorite piece of fiction by James Baldwin, noting that personal favorites and critical bests do not always align. During the same episode, Nicholas Boggs discussed how Baldwin finished writing the novel while living in Istanbul, a transformative period that also enabled him to write his highly politicized essay collection The First Next Time. In a separate episode, guest Lovia Gyarkye also discussed reading the novel, observing that while it comes as no surprise to those who know her literary tastes, the work remains one of Baldwin's most difficult and challenging novels. Together, these podcast conversations highlighted the profound emotional weight and intellectual rigor of Baldwin's fiction, cementing Another Country as a central text in discussions of mid-century American literature, personal identity, and the painful realities of social alienation and cross-cultural desire.
Who recommended it
- Nicholas Boggs Recommended
- Lovia Gyarkye Recommended
Nicholas Boggs — 2 mentions
“He went to Istanbul. That is where he finished Another Country. That is where he wrote the highly politicized The Fire Next Time.”
“My favorite fiction and what I think is the best fiction, these aren't the same thing necessarily. I should underscore that. I think my favorite novel became Another Country”
Lovia Gyarkye — 1 mention
“I'm R reading another country by James Baldwin which I'm sure comes to a shock to nobody who knows me but it was published in 1962 and I think is one of Baldwin's most difficult novels”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- A Stranger in the Village
- Dead and Alive
- Dora Bruder
- Giovanni's Room
- Go Tell It on the Mountain
- If Beale Street Could Talk
Other mentions (1: passing, ad reads, own books)
“so Baldwin had published his first novel In 1953 and he he' published by then three novels go tell on the mountain giovan's room in another country”