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_delaney_13 's review for:
Giovanni's Room
by James Baldwin
Review
This story is a heartbreaking tale of the destructiveness of a culture of heteronormativity. We watch David prevent himself from attaining true happiness because of his desperation to fit into the masculine ideal. He can’t admit his feelings or develop a meaningful connection because he is preoccupied with a fervent desire to fulfill his designated role in society. Due to this, he loses both the only man and woman who truly cared for him, leaving him further from both the dreamed up ideal and actual fulfillment. It also explores Hella’s willingness to dull herself to fit the feminine ideal of a wife and mother and how once someone has experienced the true freedom to love and be themselves, as Giovanni has, death is a better choice than living trapped.
James Baldwin is a master of emotional storytelling. Admittedly, I felt the beginning of this story was slow going, but it was absolutely worth it in order to build up to the meteoric emotional heights it reaches in its final few chapters. His observations on love, loss, and the nature of societal pressures on the human psyche are excellent and written with beautiful prose.
It is beautiful, it is horrible, it is crushing, it is hopeful. A 9/10 from me.
This story is a heartbreaking tale of the destructiveness of a culture of heteronormativity. We watch David prevent himself from attaining true happiness because of his desperation to fit into the masculine ideal. He can’t admit his feelings or develop a meaningful connection because he is preoccupied with a fervent desire to fulfill his designated role in society. Due to this, he loses both the only man and woman who truly cared for him, leaving him further from both the dreamed up ideal and actual fulfillment. It also explores Hella’s willingness to dull herself to fit the feminine ideal of a wife and mother and how once someone has experienced the true freedom to love and be themselves, as Giovanni has, death is a better choice than living trapped.
James Baldwin is a master of emotional storytelling. Admittedly, I felt the beginning of this story was slow going, but it was absolutely worth it in order to build up to the meteoric emotional heights it reaches in its final few chapters. His observations on love, loss, and the nature of societal pressures on the human psyche are excellent and written with beautiful prose.
It is beautiful, it is horrible, it is crushing, it is hopeful. A 9/10 from me.