Reviews with content warning for Biphobia - Herbergi Giovanni

Reviews tagging 'Biphobia'

Herbergi Giovanni by James Baldwin

37 reviews

noneisntoff's review against another edition

4.25

dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

beatrixdarlingdearestdead's review against another edition

5.0

emotional reflective sad fast-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

This book hits hard there was another book that I had to DNF that I was reading at the time because the name Giovanni was mentioned alot it made me get emotional. I don't usually reach for emotional reads but this is an amazing piece of literature

Content Warnings

francescaastraea's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

No one is lying when they talk about how devastating this book is. I wouldn't hand it to you and say 'enjoy' because you will not be having a nice time, which is probably why it's one of those books everyone should read.

Content Warnings

kaitlynfriedman's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense 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

Content Warnings

annaboudinot's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad 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

Content Warnings

scp203's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

For the first maybe third of this book I didn’t think it was for me, but by the end I was invested and really touched. I’m also really surprised at the openness about homosexuality both in the plot and the book itself given when it was written; it was eye-opening about the culture of the time but also surprisingly relatable 80 years later. The book struck me as really honest and insightful for that reason, and I feel I learned a lot - in various ways - reading this perspective.

Baldwin does a fantastic job exploring emotional themes through the internal experience of the narrator, moments of reflection, and through is interactions of relationships, showing a lot in small moments without over-explaining. Despite being a woman in 2025 l, I felt a lot of depth and relatability in various ways with the themes of identity the narrator explores, through the experience of all of the characters and their relationships. (I am queer, and living abroad, but it takes a lot for me to feel this deeply for a male- focused l experience and I believe it will work for others who share less demographic similarities with the subjects.) Themes like living away from home and internationally and the concept of home; bisexuality and identity and belonging and self-hatred - functioning in a society that wants you to choose; the pull between loving and despising someone, and between love and sexuality; existing as an outsider; desire and jealousy and power and social dynamics within a social group, especially a marginalized one; — in general, and I say this seriously and without a trace of irony or exaggeration, about human nature.
I was especially impressed with the depth with which the book explores love and sexuality, while including basically no sexual content. I have nothing against it , and I think it would have been just as good with more, but I think it’s a testament to the author that he accomplished what he did in this way.
Also, I cried quite a bit towards the end, for the character and the story and also for how I found myself and my loved ones and my experience of life in it.

Only not 5 stars because the beginning didn’t draw me in as much as I would have liked. I’m so glad I kept at it.

Content Warnings

mxallan's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

bilbili's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

jfcoombs's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

mildareads's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

Oh so very bleak.
Quite a surprising book to read, given its from the 50s and from an African American author.
Definitely worth a read. The way it's written is quite beautiful, and there is definitely beauty here, but, oh man. So bleak.

Content Warnings

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