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challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've been meaning to read this book for years now and to be honest I am glad I didn't. Not because I wouldn't have loved it as much or enjoyed it, but because I think it either would've destroyed me or I wouldn't have been able to feel the sadness properly. That is to say I am absolutely heartbroken, this book left me devasted. James Baldwin writes with such severity, doesn't hold back in any way. Reading this book felt violent. It's incredibly easy to connect to David as the protagonist, to relate to his feelings for Giovanni.
Following their relationship, knowing of it's inevitable tragic ending, though unaware of how it will end, god that killed me. And still it was twisted and real and unbelievably beautiful.
I feel the need to mention two things though. I have seen a clip circulation on the Internet, I think in one of Khadija Mbowe's videos, of James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni. As I understand it they were talking about him being polite to (White) strangers and not her and she says "You get home and I catch hell. Because I love you, I get least of you, I get the very minimum [...] fake it with me! Is that too much of a Black woman to ask of a Black man?" ("An Interview" 1971).
This Interview very much shaped the way I read this book. We have multiple characters in this book talking very negatively about women, which by itself isn't a problem, but I do not feel that this misogyny is properly adressed. Hella as a character feels a bit like a caricature, like she tried to be independent and it was hard and she decided to stop. And I feel like there is definitely a point to be made about a woman in the 1940s and 50s struggling to find a place in the world and to be independent, but seeing how in the end she begs David to just marry her so she can be a "woman", in the context of this clip it feels like Baldwins idea of and relationship to women is deeply unequal. I feel like there's a lot to be said about this, but frankly I haven't put in the time and effort to do it properly.
The second thing I feel the need to adress is the depiction of femininity. Hella is descriped to have in part "masculine" or unconventional qualiies (shorter hair, academic interests, the way she interacts with people as mentioned in the beginning of the book) and David seems to like her more for it, maybe because he is most likely gay or maybe it is for another reason. Because in contrast to Hella we have Jacques and Guillaume. Both of them are referred to as "faires" multiple times, they are described as effeminate in their mannerisms and sense of fashion, the older man seem to be constantly lusting after younger, beautiful men and sleep with them to sooth their egos and fight their loneliness. Both Giovanni and David despise them, they actively look down at the feminine gays, seeing themselves as above them because of their discretion and masculinity. I feel like Baldwin uses this as a way to symbolize David's fear of his homosexuality and it works well. There is a scene in the beginning of the book where a drunk, dead looking, very feminine man comes up to David at the bar and starts flirting with him snd David is absolutely repulsed by him and rudely sends him away. The man, on his way to leave, tells David that he will burn in hell and be "very unhappy" (p. 34-36). This to me reads as David's repressed love for men, in this case Giovanni, coming to haunt him, as it does throughout the whole book. This repression ends up being his downfall, since after he left Giovanni, his engagement to Hella didn't work out and he was left alone with neither her or Giovanni at his side and Giovanni was executed and died unloved and alone. And while his death isn't completely David's fault, he did play a big part in how it ended and had he stayed with Giovanni and loved him as he tried so hard not to, it all would've ended very differently. And while I do love the symbolism of that, I feel like Jacques and Guillaume as characters served to reinforce negative stereotypes about gay men being predators and feminine men being less than and more immoral than masculine men, gay or not.
The reason I bother writing all of this down and going into detail on what I feel should be criticized, is because more than anything else I absolutely loved this book. I am certain that I will read it again and again and I am very excited to hear other peoples takes on the story and it's characters. Very very strongly recommend!
I feel the need to mention two things though. I have seen a clip circulation on the Internet, I think in one of Khadija Mbowe's videos, of James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni. As I understand it they were talking about him being polite to (White) strangers and not her and she says "You get home and I catch hell. Because I love you, I get least of you, I get the very minimum [...] fake it with me! Is that too much of a Black woman to ask of a Black man?" ("An Interview" 1971).
This Interview very much shaped the way I read this book. We have multiple characters in this book talking very negatively about women, which by itself isn't a problem, but I do not feel that this misogyny is properly adressed. Hella as a character feels a bit like a caricature, like she tried to be independent and it was hard and she decided to stop. And I feel like there is definitely a point to be made about a woman in the 1940s and 50s struggling to find a place in the world and to be independent, but seeing how in the end she begs David to just marry her so she can be a "woman", in the context of this clip it feels like Baldwins idea of and relationship to women is deeply unequal. I feel like there's a lot to be said about this, but frankly I haven't put in the time and effort to do it properly.
The second thing I feel the need to adress is the depiction of femininity. Hella is descriped to have in part "masculine" or unconventional qualiies (shorter hair, academic interests, the way she interacts with people as mentioned in the beginning of the book) and David seems to like her more for it, maybe because he is most likely gay or maybe it is for another reason. Because in contrast to Hella we have Jacques and Guillaume. Both of them are referred to as "faires" multiple times, they are described as effeminate in their mannerisms and sense of fashion, the older man seem to be constantly lusting after younger, beautiful men and sleep with them to sooth their egos and fight their loneliness. Both Giovanni and David despise them, they actively look down at the feminine gays, seeing themselves as above them because of their discretion and masculinity. I feel like Baldwin uses this as a way to symbolize David's fear of his homosexuality and it works well. There is a scene in the beginning of the book where a drunk, dead looking, very feminine man comes up to David at the bar and starts flirting with him snd David is absolutely repulsed by him and rudely sends him away. The man, on his way to leave, tells David that he will burn in hell and be "very unhappy" (p. 34-36). This to me reads as David's repressed love for men, in this case Giovanni, coming to haunt him, as it does throughout the whole book. This repression ends up being his downfall, since after he left Giovanni, his engagement to Hella didn't work out and he was left alone with neither her or Giovanni at his side and Giovanni was executed and died unloved and alone. And while his death isn't completely David's fault, he did play a big part in how it ended and had he stayed with Giovanni and loved him as he tried so hard not to, it all would've ended very differently. And while I do love the symbolism of that, I feel like Jacques and Guillaume as characters served to reinforce negative stereotypes about gay men being predators and feminine men being less than and more immoral than masculine men, gay or not.
The reason I bother writing all of this down and going into detail on what I feel should be criticized, is because more than anything else I absolutely loved this book. I am certain that I will read it again and again and I am very excited to hear other peoples takes on the story and it's characters. Very very strongly recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, Alcohol
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship
Minor: Rape, Sexual content
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one hurt
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria
Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Excrement, Murder, Colonisation
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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Timeless, heartbreaking, and so cinematic. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to delve into Baldwin’s work. Truly do not have any negatives to say about this novel, and I’m sure it will stick with me for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Classism
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual violence
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Automatic negative points for being pro-Paris / pro-France and using the French language. AUTOMATIC !!!!!! I can't help my dislike, nay I say hatred of those baguettes!
Negative points also for the main characters, all characters being white. I understand that the story couldn't be told without them being white. It's just hard for me to relate to white stories. I don't understand them. Usually when I read them I think "Okay but you don't have real problems. Why are you complaining?" Which is only halfway a joke. 55% a jape.
I did relate to the main character however. For future me reading this, you just broke up with your first girlfriend. You only related in some, a few ways, not completely, but it was noticeable.
Despite my criticisms the writing was lovely. It feels like thee queer/gay book that mothered or grandmothered queer books. I loved the brief analysis into gender and heteronorms. It came out of nowhere but it really stood out. Every thing you feel for the first time has already been felt by the rest of humanity a billion times over. I also love when classics can still be relatable.
Negative points also for the main characters, all characters being white. I understand that the story couldn't be told without them being white. It's just hard for me to relate to white stories. I don't understand them. Usually when I read them I think "Okay but you don't have real problems. Why are you complaining?" Which is only halfway a joke. 55% a jape.
I did relate to the main character however. For future me reading this, you just broke up with your first girlfriend. You only related in some, a few ways, not completely, but it was noticeable.
Despite my criticisms the writing was lovely. It feels like thee queer/gay book that mothered or grandmothered queer books. I loved the brief analysis into gender and heteronorms. It came out of nowhere but it really stood out. Every thing you feel for the first time has already been felt by the rest of humanity a billion times over. I also love when classics can still be relatable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Grief, Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Toxic friendship
Minor: Biphobia, Confinement, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Car accident, Death of parent
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Giovanni's Room follows the story of David, an American man who, after being left by his girlfriend in France, starts a relationship with another man, named Giovanni.
This book touches on many topics. The three main issues it covers is internalized homophobia/biphobia, what it means to be a 'real man', and confinement.
The book takes place in the 1950s, when attitudes of gay people were shifting—more for the worse than better. These strong homophobic attitudes further lead David into self-hatred.
David's earliest experience of same-sex attraction happened with a friend of his named Joey. Theyslept together one night, and afterwards, David became extremely cold to him and began to bully him . On top of this, David, who is raised by his single father, constantly expresses his want for David to be a real man. What being a 'real man' means is something that David struggles greatly with throughout the book.
In my perspective, David felt that his attraction to Joey was just a one-time thing, but, after meeting Giovanni and almost instantly being attracted to him, he feels ashamed of himself.
His same-sex attraction makes him feel emasculated, which he displays by mocking other gay/bi individuals that he encounters. He refers to the gay and bi men by the word 'fairy', which is another way of saying 'sissy' or the f-slur. He feels as though he is different from them, despite also being same-sex attracted. This attempt to separate himself from the other men shows how insecure he is about being who he is.
He also pushes himself away from Giovanni because of his shame. While Hella, David's girlfriend, is off finding herself in another country, David and Giovanni spend a lot of time together. But the moment Hella returns,David leaves Giovanni in the middle of the night and has him worried about him for over three days. David runs from himself both literally and figuratively.
On top of all of this, growing up, David's father constantly expressed his want for David to be a
'real man'. David's father never elaborates on what he meant by that, but through his letters to David, it can be assumed that he wanted David to find a woman, get married, and have children. David tries his best to achieve this expectation by trying to make things work with Hella.
One last topic that is covered in Giovanni's Room is confinement. Giovanni has big windows with no curtains, so anyone is able to see inside. Because of this, he keeps the lights off in the room and him and David stay low to the ground. This is not just for the need of regular, personal privacy, but also to conceal the homosexual acts that take place in the room. They both know that if anyone were to find them, they would no longer be safe.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. It showed a deeper side to homosexuality and how those who happen to experience same-sex attraction struggle with acceptance, but inward and outward.
This book touches on many topics. The three main issues it covers is internalized homophobia/biphobia, what it means to be a 'real man', and confinement.
The book takes place in the 1950s, when attitudes of gay people were shifting—more for the worse than better. These strong homophobic attitudes further lead David into self-hatred.
David's earliest experience of same-sex attraction happened with a friend of his named Joey. They
In my perspective, David felt that his attraction to Joey was just a one-time thing, but, after meeting Giovanni and almost instantly being attracted to him, he feels ashamed of himself.
His same-sex attraction makes him feel emasculated, which he displays by mocking other gay/bi individuals that he encounters. He refers to the gay and bi men by the word 'fairy', which is another way of saying 'sissy' or the f-slur. He feels as though he is different from them, despite also being same-sex attracted. This attempt to separate himself from the other men shows how insecure he is about being who he is.
He also pushes himself away from Giovanni because of his shame. While Hella, David's girlfriend, is off finding herself in another country, David and Giovanni spend a lot of time together. But the moment Hella returns,
On top of all of this, growing up, David's father constantly expressed his want for David to be a
'real man'. David's father never elaborates on what he meant by that, but through his letters to David, it can be assumed that he wanted David to find a woman, get married, and have children. David tries his best to achieve this expectation by trying to make things work with Hella.
One last topic that is covered in Giovanni's Room is confinement. Giovanni has big windows with no curtains, so anyone is able to see inside. Because of this, he keeps the lights off in the room and him and David stay low to the ground. This is not just for the need of regular, personal privacy, but also to conceal the homosexual acts that take place in the room. They both know that if anyone were to find them, they would no longer be safe.
All in all, I enjoyed this book. It showed a deeper side to homosexuality and how those who happen to experience same-sex attraction struggle with acceptance, but inward and outward.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Child death, Confinement, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Read for book club. Beautiful descriptions, frustrating and heavy exposition, a disconnect between character actions and ruminations, and difficult emotional tensions to move through despite the short length.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Homophobia, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault, Transphobia, Car accident, Murder
Minor: Bullying
emotional
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Alcohol
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Murder
Minor: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment