Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

4 reviews

savanha_reads's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Murder, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Suicidal thoughts

miller8d's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I like James Baldwin’s poetic language and poignant emotional description but

I found the ending of this book quite disappointing and I really wish there had been more plot to this book. It felt like nothing really happened in comparison to how much of the book was spent explaining— it was a lot of telling and not a lot of showing, which isn’t bad, it’s just not my preference. James Baldwin is incredible and brilliant and this book is historically significant, but I did not enjoy it very much.

Note: I pictured James Baldwin as Giovanni, and Hugh Dennis as Jacques.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Suicide, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Classism, Outing, Sexual harassment, Violence, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Sexism

meenakshisathish's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The first person POV is integral to understanding the story. The hatred you feel for the main character reflects the self-hatred and self-destruction the main character goes through, and the reader is forced to experience it. It becomes a metaphor about toxic-masculinity and internalized homophobia. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

fightingmarc's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Giovanni's Room has a similar feeling to the book I had just finished reading before, Yukio Mishima's Forbidden Colours, however the emotional payoff here has much more impact. Most queer people who read Giovanni's Room can see themselves in some way with the struggle of Giovanni, David and even Hella. Baldwin's writing is beautiful, and the last fifty pages of the story were weaved so intricately that the climax of the story, which you are warned about early on in the book, still manages a suckerpunch. This is a classic queer tragedy, and one that struck me with an intensity I haven't felt in a while.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence