A review by classcb
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

 #hillzshelf book club read for June (oh I’m SOOOOOOO sorry it’s 5 days into July 🙄). Any who, James Baldwin holy Hella you can write a novel.

The vocabulary, oh. my. goodness. Just beautifully written. This was perfection for Pride month (again June), it made me emotional. I have never written down as much as I did with such a fairly short novel. Too bad it’s a library borrow (that is overdue btw) or else it’d be highlighted up right nice. This book is a heavy emotional hitter, it makes you think of dark things your mind never really wants to go to. I am an absolute fan & this is not for everyone, but should be appreciated for even existing. Just beautiful, did I say that already? I even laughed at some v dark moments like the lose his head joke? Come onnnnn 🫠

PS
I listen to music when I read, often influenced by the novel. Since I knew the novel was set in France & was written in 1956, I played a vintage French playlist & when I tell you I felt like I was living in the book 😍

Oh and it’s very sad don’t get me wrong, very, very sad but sad things can still be really beautiful.