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A review by teavani
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
4.0
4.3
borrowed physical copy
i was really engrossed by the last 1/3 of the book. there are a couple conversations (about women b/w Hella and David, and of course b/w Giovanni and David) that had me staying up late in order to finish.
i wish i could read this in a more analytical setting like in an english lit classroom bc i think there were definitely some parts that went over my head. for example i understood the surface level comparison of american vs french attitudes but im sure there’s a deeper interpretation im missing. same with the sailor scene - went back and re-read it and picked up on the foreshadowing but maybe there was more
other
- the symbolism of the room itself - very consistent, the shame and self-hatred perturbing every part of david’s connection with giovanni, the lack of order
- time skips/changes throughout
- hella was a really interesting character, with her thoughts on womanhood and her connection with that role
- the alienation david feels due to his internalized homophobia/repulsion of his queer desire, and the resulting cruelty he unleashes towards Giovanni
side note i would like to thank emily in paris for teaching me the word merde, as i didn’t have to google translate it <3
borrowed physical copy
i was really engrossed by the last 1/3 of the book. there are a couple conversations (about women b/w Hella and David, and of course b/w Giovanni and David) that had me staying up late in order to finish.
i wish i could read this in a more analytical setting like in an english lit classroom bc i think there were definitely some parts that went over my head. for example i understood the surface level comparison of american vs french attitudes but im sure there’s a deeper interpretation im missing. same with the sailor scene - went back and re-read it and picked up on the foreshadowing but maybe there was more
other
- the symbolism of the room itself - very consistent, the shame and self-hatred perturbing every part of david’s connection with giovanni, the lack of order
- time skips/changes throughout
- hella was a really interesting character, with her thoughts on womanhood and her connection with that role
- the alienation david feels due to his internalized homophobia/repulsion of his queer desire, and the resulting cruelty he unleashes towards Giovanni
side note i would like to thank emily in paris for teaching me the word merde, as i didn’t have to google translate it <3