Another Country (Dial Press, 1962)
Another Country was a novel written by American novelist and social critic James Baldwin. Set in Greenwich Village, in the late 1950s, the novel portrayed many themes that were taboo at the time, including bisexuality, interracial relationships and extramarital affairs. The novel was divided into three parts. The beginning of Another Country is that the main character, Rufus Scott, dies. He leaves behind, his sister, Ida, and his friends. They include Vivaldo; a struggling novelist, Richard; another writer, Richard’s wife; Cass, Eric; an actor returning from Europe, Ellis, an executive, and Leona, who was Rufus lover, but is in a mental hospital in the south now due to a mental collapse. A relationship develops between Vivaldo who is Italian, and Ida who is black. Eric’s male lover is coming to New York to be with him, and Eric is dealing with renewing relationships with everyone who he has not been around in a couple of years. Ellis is interested in Ida, and Richard and Cass are dealing with their marriage.
Another Country was banned in Australia in February 1963 for being “continually smeared with indecent, offensive and dirty epithets and allusions” by the Literature Censorship Board. They did recommend that the book remain available though for “the serious minded student or reader.” The ban was lifted in May 1966.
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