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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of the saddest, most beautiful books I’ve ever read.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
“And yet – when one begins to search for the crucial, the definitive moment, the moment which changed all others, one finds oneself pressing, in great pain, through a maze of false signals and abruptly locking doors.” (p.9)
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
Reminded me of White Nights. Obviously the writing was very good, but the story itself was not otherworldly, probably because my expectations had been raised way way high.
David is as big of a whiny shit as Victor Frankenstein.
David is as big of a whiny shit as Victor Frankenstein.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A tragically sad story — but my goodness, beautifully written. Baldwin’s language is so lush and romantic that it instantly feels like a classic. Giovanni’s tiny, shabby room is described so vividly it’s almost suffocating, which perfectly mirrors David and Giovanni’s intense, intoxicating, but doomed relationship.
For such a short novel, the characters are strikingly real — I could picture every one of them, which made the ending all the more gut-wrenching. The gay angst is absolutely there, but Baldwin writes it with tenderness and honesty, especially bold for 1956.
The final pages? Heartbreaking. I’ll be rereading just to collect the quotable gems — some profound, others wickedly funny.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated