Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

73 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Grief, Murder, Death, Pedophilia, and Sexism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Transphobia, Rape, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

lou_bbn's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

le style d'écriture est incroyable 

un peu plus confuse avec comment je me sens par rapport à tout le reste 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Transphobia, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

aseel_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

I'm really glad I've read this now and I'm was very surprised about Giovanni's demise (the cause of it). Obviously all the problematic stuff was ick to read and there could have been a more substantial plot 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Transphobia

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Sexual harassment

ashgalwoah's review against another edition

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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Murder, and Sexism

emilymhb's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

Wow wow wow wow wow. Just beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

marionhoney's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Homophobia, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Biphobia, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Outing, Classism, Sexual violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, and Rape

goddessofwhatnot's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Far sadder than I was expecting.  If this book is any indication, the level of self-loathing experienced by queer men at this time must have been unimaginable. 
Reading this was like bobbing out on the open ocean, life vest on, but seeing nothing but wave after wave of misery and devastation coming your way

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Infidelity, Bullying, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexism

Minor: Death, Self harm, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Abandonment, Child death, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, and Biphobia

billie_visible's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism

Minor: Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Miscarriage

im_eebee's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

1.75

Beautifully written, but I hate the main character with a burning passion. I need him to get over himself yesterday. All he does is hurt people. I don’t like books where the main character is so deeply unaware of how their actions affect others. Some people will find that as the highlight of this book, but I find it frustrating to read. I’ll definitely check out Baldwin’s other work because the writing style was the only part of this that I liked, but this was a miss for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Mental illness, Bullying, Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Classism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Outing, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

florih's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

The only reason this is not a 5🌟 for me is the obvious misogyny and sexism of the main character (alongside his internalised homophobia, which is the point of the plot)... to be fair he is absolutely despicable as a character. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Sexism, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny