A review by inesmts
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

sad tense slow-paced
  • 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

4.0

Giovanni’s Room is a pure tragedy story. Two men who quite quickly develop an intense and very dependent relationship, that does not transcribe as love at all. David, our narrator, is extremely repressed and very selfish. He doesn’t even let himself feel his own emotions, and instead resents others for it. As for Giovanni, he is but a victim of David’s fantasies an desires. It was for him that I felt the most. Giovanni was truly just played by everyone he encountered - and lost in what others wanted of him. 

The one thing I couldn’t really get along with, in this book, was with its depiction of women. The characters showed no respect to women, laughed about misogynistic jokes and that’s something that always puts me off the most when I read about a love story between two men - authors always seem to want to compare the two very different relationship dynamics. 
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