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dniespal's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A brilliant, poetically written book on hardships of love. The language is astonishing and the portrayal of characters is quite vivid.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Outing, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
poirot's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Alcohol, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
kimveach's review against another edition
dark
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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is the first book I've read by James Baldwin. I'll definitely be reading more. His writing is beautiful and elegant without being difficult to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Grief, Murder, Outing, Rape, and Toxic friendship
untanglingbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
After months of wanting to read this book I finally did it!!
I need to say that at the beginning I was kinda disappointed because the story was not really moving forward, a lot of irrelevant things were described way too thoroughly and I couldn't really understand David's motives and thoughts. Even though I definitely would have had the time to read the whole book it took me days to read the first part... (But at the end I almost devoured page after page and just couldn't stop reading anymore :D)
With the return of Hella the pace of the story suddenly accelerated a lot and it finally got very interesting. Some thoughts eventually made sense and as a reader I got to understand David's situation a lot better.
Especially David's last meeting with Giovanni was really enlightening and also showed what being gay in these times actually meant for someone like him. In this scene as well as in the following, David and also Giovanni became very elaborate characters and I was very close to shedding tears when Giovanni begged David to stay, but he eventually went with Hella. The ending was quite sad, even though I had known that David and Giovanni wouldn't end up together. I still feel like David developed a lot as a character, so this could lighten my mood a little.
One thing that threw me off throughout the whole book were these misogynistic comments towards Hella or women in general. Back then the times were definitely different from today and Hella also addressed the topic of her role as a woman in society, but this was more or less the only time she was let to raise her voice and the whole topic just left me back a little uncomfortable.
All in all this is a great book and definitely worth reading, even though it takes a while until Baldwin actually gets to the point.
I need to say that at the beginning I was kinda disappointed because the story was not really moving forward, a lot of irrelevant things were described way too thoroughly and I couldn't really understand David's motives and thoughts. Even though I definitely would have had the time to read the whole book it took me days to read the first part... (But at the end I almost devoured page after page and just couldn't stop reading anymore :D)
With the return of Hella the pace of the story suddenly accelerated a lot and it finally got very interesting. Some thoughts eventually made sense and as a reader I got to understand David's situation a lot better.
One thing that threw me off throughout the whole book were these misogynistic comments towards Hella or women in general. Back then the times were definitely different from today and Hella also addressed the topic of her role as a woman in society, but this was more or less the only time she was let to raise her voice and the whole topic just left me back a little uncomfortable.
All in all this is a great book and definitely worth reading, even though it takes a while until Baldwin actually gets to the point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Outing, and Transphobia
milliebrierley's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Murder, and Outing
curatoriallyyours's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
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? Yes
3.75
Although this book is, in many respects, about the tragic relationship between the narrator, David, and Giovanni, I think it’s more about the anguish within David as he tries to navigate who he truly is without bearing the burden of making decisions. I know I have been in the situation of not wanting to hurt someone but doing so anyway through my apathy and unwillingness to take decisive action - of allowing life to happen to me because I didn’t really know what I wanted. I don’t really see this as a love story either - Giovanni is manipulative and David is in no place within himself to be able to love anyone. I think the relationship is more of an awakening for David - his realisation that he is gay and he cannot keep running from it. He’s driven by guilt in all things and that guilt is a reflection of the time in history and the realities of being homosexual in a world that tells you it’s wrong.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Fatphobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Murder, Outing, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Vomit, and Xenophobia
I was not a fan of the casual sexism and transphobia, and I can’t decide if it’s a deliberate airing of questionable ideas by the author to prompt reflection in the reader (this book would have been a shock at the time it was published), a mirror of the values of the time or the genuine feeling of the author.
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