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Symbols
In Another Country, books are symbols of education and class status. In the novel, Richard writes a detective novel, a popular genre that characters—including Richard—believe is intellectually worthless. Neither Cass nor Vivaldo respect Richard’s novel, though they will not say so explicitly. Richard’s novel—which he himself does not care for—exemplifies the commercial side of artistic pursuit and the pitfalls that come along with it. Meanwhile, Vivaldo hopes to write a great novel that may not be commercially viable but that instead represents some sort of greater truth about the world. At the end of Another Country, after Vivaldo ends his relationship with Ida, he finally feels able to write his novel. Vivaldo’s relationship with Ida taught him something that he feels he can turn into high art, giving him the inspiration he has sought after the entire novel. Baldwin depicts Vivaldo’s act of artistic creation as a great triumph. Unlike Richard, Vivaldo’s novel does not code him as a sellout—rather, he is a noble artist seeking to reveal something difficult and true about the human condition.
Books Quotes in Another Country
The Another Country quotes below all refer to the symbol of Books. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Book 1, Chapter 3
Quotes
The occurrence of an event is not the same thing as knowing what it is that one has lived through. Most people had not lived—nor could it, for that matter, be said that they had died—through any of their terrible events. They had simply been stunned by the hammer. They passed their lives thereafter in a kind of limbo of denied and unexamined pain. The great question that faced him this morning was whether or not he had ever, really, been present at his life. For if he had ever been present, then he was present still, and his world would open up before him.
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She put the book down on the bar between Ida and Vivaldo. “It’s had great advance notices. You know, ‘literate,’ ‘adult,’ ‘thrilling’—that sort of thing. Richard’ll show them to you. It’s even been compared to Crime and Punishment—because they both have such a simple story line, I guess.” Vivaldo looked at her sharply. “Well. I’m only quoting.”
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Book 2, Chapter 3
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He looked at the blonde again, wondering what she was like with no clothes on. She was sitting at a table near the door, facing him, toying with a daiquiri glass, and talking to a heavy, gray-haired man, who had a high giggle, who was a little drunk, and whom Vivaldo recognized as a fairly well-known poet. The blonde reminded him of Cass. And this made him realize—for the first time, it is astonishing how well the obvious can be hidden—that when he had met Cass, so many years ago, he had been terribly flattered that so highborn a lady noticed such a stinking boy. He had been overwhelmed. And he had adored Richard without reserve, not, as it now turned out, because of Richard’s talent, which, in any case, he had then been quite unable to judge, but merely because Richard possessed Cass.
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Book 3, Chapter 1
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Smoke poured from his nostrils and a detail that he needed for his novel, which he had been searching for months, fell, neatly and vividly, like the tumblers of a lock, into place in his mind. It seemed impossible that he should not have thought of it before: it illuminated, justified, clarified everything.
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Get the entire Another Country LitChart as a printable PDF.
Books Symbol Timeline in Another Country
The timeline below shows where the symbol Books appears in Another Country. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Chapter 1
...asked what they have been up to. Vivaldo said he has been working on his novel. Cass did not see this as a legitimate excuse because he had been working on...
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...bar, they run into Cass and Richard, who are celebrating because Richard recently sold his novel. Vivaldo congratulates Richard on his success and asks him how soon he can read the...
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Book 1, Chapter 2
Richard enters the room, greets Vivaldo, and hands him the manuscript for his novel. He tells Vivaldo to temper his expectations—to Richard it is a good book, not a...
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...they are not exposed to the world. She contemplates her relationship with Richard and his novel. Secretly, both of them think that his novel—which is not particularly good—is the best he...
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Book 1, Chapter 3
The following March, Vivaldo sits at his desk and stares at his novel. The chapter he is working on is not going well, which is also the case...
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...a party at Richard and Cass’s new apartment to celebrate the publication of Richard’s new novel. Vivaldo has read Richard’s novel and did not care for it, though he would never...
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...his attention toward sleeping. However, every time he tries to go to sleep, his unfinished novel calls out to him. He looks at his desk and thinks about the various sex...
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...it. Cass laughs in agreement and then shows Vivaldo and Ida a copy of Richard’s book. She says, “It’s even been compared to Crime and Punishment—because they both have such a...
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Ida looks at Richard’s book and then teasingly tells Vivaldo she knows something that he doesn’t: Cass’s full name. Vivaldo...
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...spots Vivaldo and fixes himself a drink. Richard takes Vivaldo aside and they discuss the book’s publication. At one point, Richard changes the subject to ask about Vivaldo’s interest in “colored...
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...the party guests because many of them are connections he could use to get his book published. Vivaldo begrudgingly agrees to do as she says.
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Ellis asks Vivaldo about himself, so Vivaldo talks about his novel. Ellis acts unimpressed when Vivaldo says the project is about Brooklyn, calling it “old-fashioned.” Vivaldo...
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...to Loring, Richard’s editor. Loring explains that Ida was trying to tell him about Vivaldo’s novel, though she does not seem to know much about it. Vivaldo responds that Ida does...
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...away, Cass introduces Vivaldo to Sydney Ingram, a young man who just published his first novel. For the first and only time of the evening, Vivaldo is actually excited to meet...
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Book 2, Chapter 2
...his writing career. Richard informs him that things are going well; he has a new book that he is working on, and there might be a Hollywood adaptation of the first...
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...him as much as she used to because he sold out to write a popular book, rather than continue to live life as a struggling artist.
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Book 2, Chapter 4
...two other couples, one white and one Black. The other couples question Cass about Richard’s novel, and she answers their questions politely, though she does not care about them.
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Book 3, Chapter 1
...side, he finally thinks he has some valuable insight that he can use for his novel.
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...their embrace. Later in the day, Ida sleeps while Vivaldo spends time working on his novel.
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