Reviews - Giovanni's Room | The StoryGraph

20.6k reviews for:

Giovanni's Room

James Baldwin

4.36 AVERAGE

trevkirk's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

essebakker's review against another edition

4.25

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

gorgie1836's review against another edition

4.75

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

amor_hereos's review against another edition

3.75

dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I wish the second half was as emotional and intoxicating as when he first met Giovanni. I obviously didn’t like how cold and removed he was from the whole thing, which is partially the point, because he pushes away from his sexuality and therefore his feelings at all. but not even a single breakdown til the end? no show of humanity to giovanni other than lingering in a doorway?? like it symbolizes in the end with the torn up letter flying back at him, try as he might he will never escape what has now become so much worse than what he was originally trying to escape from. I also wish that Baldwin went more in depth with them falling in love so that it hit harder when everything happened, but I understand that could’ve been partially just the time in which this was written that restricted it. I also like that while for the most part David was pretty unlikeable, there was still so much about him that was relatable, similar questions that have been wondered, similar feelings about the world and love. David however gave in to the desire to ignore his own and others’ feelings, and therefore suffered the consequences. even still, knowing him he’ll probably just let that taint him further rather than learn from it.

thomas_duffield's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

nosferkatu's review against another edition

5.0

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I was so confused for a while, til I got like 45% of the way in and things started to click.

Giovanni's Room a cautious story about finding yourself and the dangers of repression. Summaries say it's about "desire and conventional morality", but I think that's a bit reductive. It's more about insecurity and fear and also a queer story.

I appreciate the feminist themes--Hella goes off to find herself (at the beginning, I thought Hella knew David was gay and was entertaining the thought of a lavender marriage) but comes back realizing nowhere in the world respects an unmarried woman. So often, David describes women this way and that way, and Giovanni describes them in a similar but more misogynistic view. David accuses Giovanni of trying to put David in a "wife-y" kind of role that David rejects. David sees women as a tool, a staple in the traditional expectation society holds for him and other men. He doesn't respect women necessarily or see them as individuals either. More as an extension of their husbands. (Hella came back when she finally learned this for herself and gave up because being an independent woman was too hard for her.) This may play in to the whole, "manhood & masculinity" themes. (Especially if David is a bottom.)

The people crave essays and research papers. This is a novel I'd like to own physically--so I can mark it up with notes on cultural references/significance (and with all the French, I needed footnotes lol) and organize my thoughts. I had flipped through certain parts to look for transitions, foreshadowing, and other literary devices I'd previously missed. I'm sure that another run through would uncover even more details.