Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

2 reviews

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

onmalsshelf's review

tense medium-paced

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

2.5

Some of the best writing I’ve ever read in a classic, but with the most insufferable cast of characters. Oi with the misogyny already 

Also The Atlantic lied in their blurb, ‘Exciting…a book that belongs in the top rank of fiction’

Exciting? Where?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Blood, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Classism, and Mental illness