19.9k reviews for:

Giovanni's Room

James Baldwin

4.36 AVERAGE

yleniamele's review against another edition

5.0

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astonishing how a book this small, can make such a big impact on me

 aka this is painful

krsnris's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

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Baldwin is extremely intelligent, and I definitely had a lot to reflect on both during and after reading this book. I hated all of the characters I think, but especially the main character. The book deals with poverty and the lengths that people go to escape it, self-identity, how internal denial hurts others, and a bunch of other stuff. There’s a lot of manipulation and cowardice, and this book really just made me feel like humanity sucks. It was well-written, and I just give it 4 stars because it made me feel cynical and I really didn’t like any of the characters 😭 W Baldwin tho

charliemeal's review against another edition

5.0

emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

djghost's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-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

icedcoffee's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mathsreading's review against another edition

4.0

reflective

hakeem_reads's review against another edition

5.0

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What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said?

bmce01's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

freshminttea's review against another edition

3.5

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jennadoyle's review against another edition

4.5

dark reflective sad

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Poetic and reflective. Reminded me of ocean Vuong. Closeted gays maneuvering feelings in an unaccepting world.