Scan barcode
quiettalker's review against another edition
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Transphobia and Homophobia
Minor: Child death
sanperse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Transphobia and Misogyny
Minor: Death
merlinagarance's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Transphobia, Misogyny, Death, and Homophobia
marionhoney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Homophobia, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Biphobia, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Outing, Classism, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, and Rape
kendal_reads's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Toxic relationship, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Misogyny, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Transphobia
carowarburton's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Sexual violence
flashandoutbreak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Misogyny, Alcohol, and Murder
Minor: Transphobia and Outing
centaurstesticle's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Transphobia, Murder, Death, and Homophobia
capacity4wonder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Transphobia
Moderate: Rape, Murder, Sexual assault, and Child death
maxgardner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
For a fairly short book, Giovanni's Room packs a huge punch and is a gold mine for literary analysis. Baldwin, in spite of having pretty terse prose, weaves these beautiful themes and motifs throughout that all intersect and complement each other. The idea of home as this place David wants to return to yet has never actually had in the sense of what he yearns for, the theme of otherness and lack of identity that David feels in how he's perceived as a foreigner and as a straight man, the violence of masculinity and self-repression, among so many others. The text is so rich with all of these really well thought out ideas, and I think that is in large part due to Baldwin's intrinsic understanding of what it feels like to be a gay man and to have lived with those struggles. Obviously there's imagination on display here in crafting these characters, but the depth of the story comes from a place of real pain and experience. This is a masterwork from Baldwin, and it seems like he is the only one who could have told this story.
This book made me feel nerdy again and want to write an essay. I can't wait to read it again in the future and see what new insights I can mine from it.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Misogyny