Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Giovanni's Room

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Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

66 reviews

everesto's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I read this book for school and really enjoyed it. All of the characters (except Hella) were all awful people and like half of them were pedophiles BUT I was very invested in the story and really wanted to know how the story got to the point where Giovanni was getting executed. Baldwins writing style is very beautiful and the way he uses repetition of words to reinforce and highlight certain ideas really stuck out to me. I also really liked the way he switched between tenses so often, not many other writers would not have been able to pull that off without it being really confusing. I was not a fan of the portrayal of trans/genderqueer people or the ideas on women but I think that's due to just who David is as a character and also the time this book was written.

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kitandink's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

not heterosexual, not pro-gay rights, but a secret, third thing

(okay on a serious note, this is my first time reading baldwin and it was brilliant. his prose - there's an urgency in it. like he's sat in a chair across from you, holding your gaze intensely, and going, "listen. listen to this.")

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amy_q13's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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e_r_q's review

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"I feel in myself now a faint, a dreadful stirring of what so overwhelmingly stirred in me then, great thirsty heat, and trembling, and tenderness so painful I thought my heart would burst."

Despite being only 150 pages long, it did take me a while to read Giovanni's Room. It's definitely a lot to digest, it's very literary and emotionally intense, but those are also exactly the reasons I love this book so much.

With his powerful prose, it feels as though James Baldwin is reaching across time, right into the depths of my Queer soul. Honestly, sometimes it even hurt to read this (in a good way).

Giovanni's Room is a story of self-destruction, identity, shame, repression, alienation, gender and sexuality. It's a tale that examines the destructive forces of toxic masculinity, and internalised homophobia and misogyny. To quote Baldwin himself:

"It's about what happens to you if you're afraid to love anybody."

It's tragic, explosive, emotional, frustrating and deeply meditative. David is a very flawed person, but still I related deeply to so many of his experiences with his sexuality. And at his worst and most toxic, David also reminded me of all the shitty queer men I've had terrible experiences with. Baldwin somehow puts into words so many tumultuous feelings I myself have experienced before. It's genuinely astonishing.

"But if I were still able to feel affection and if he had seen it in my eyes, it would not have helped, for affection, for the boys I was doomed to look at, was vastly more frightening than lust."

Baldwin is a master at writing. The way he plays with tense/chronology/structure is especially ingenious. While very literary, his writing isn't impenetrable, and is still filled to the brim with complex themes, intensity, symbolism and poeticism. Every sentence is so perfectly crafted, and there are so many quotes that just took my breath away.

I honestly can't do this book justice with words. Just read it. It's life changing.

As I finished this book in a graveyard, bathed in the gleam of the Spring sunlight, the striking potency of the climax involuntarily caused me to frantically hold the book closer to my face. And when it was over, with that haunting denouement, I closed the book and sat there for a while in silence.

"No matter how it seems now, I must confess: I loved him. I do not think that I will ever love anyone like that again."

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marissasa's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is my first James Baldwin book and I have always heard that he was an excellent writer who truly understood the human condition, but oof did this classic literature toxic yaoi hit even harder than expected. In all seriousness though, there is so much pain and turmoil and suffering in this book, interspersed with a few moments of tenderness and genuine human connection that will make your heart lift, only to be followed again by trauma, drama, and heartbreak that will drop it back into your stomach. The writing is beautiful and poetic in a straightforward way, and it touches on the themes of isolation, identity, homophobia, and masculinity in a very purposeful manner. The ending in particular is haunting and this book is definitely a testament to the plight of queer people throughout history that will stick around in my mind for a while.

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