20.5k reviews for:

Giovanni's Room

James Baldwin

4.36 AVERAGE

kiki_santxa21's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jyothsnak's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

joeunnieeeee's review against another edition

5.0

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okay revisiting this one, gave it an extra star due to how much i thought about this book after reading it. James Baldwin is one of the greats, his prose is beautifully written and the story offers so much commentary on the queer experience, so much of which is still relevant now especially with this era of political regression and the rise of conservatism.

bambi_eyes19's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

eryn's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

struwos's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

loganh913's review against another edition

5.0

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

murder_bot's review against another edition

4.5

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

taytaythetalkingduck's review against another edition

3.5

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I need to reread and give it my proper attention (I started a new job this week so it’s been hectic); I’m very interested in Hella as a character but not so interesting in Gio and David which is where the rating comes from: excellent prose to be sure! 

kykythebookworm's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

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my first James Baldwin! good classic story, the themes of guilt/not knowing yourself anymore once you realize you’re gay are unfortunately timeless and it was all written so beautifully. i have so many sections highlighted in this book. want to give both David and Giovanni a hug.