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A review by purplehulk713
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book only truly interested me at the very end when Giovanni is calling David out on all his bullshit. It felt so much like what people consider “literature” otherwise—clever and well-thought-out, but too dense and tedious to read to be of any real enjoyment to anyone who’s not an English scholar (and I’m speaking as university writing minor). But as a landmark in queer fiction, it does deserve praise. I just wish that it didn’t make me want so much for it to be over while reading more than it made me enjoy its poetic prose and insights (David is so frustrating, and Jacques and Guillaume are disgusting). But facing the sincerity embodied in Giovanni’s room was a truly tantalizing subject.
Graphic: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship