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kingofthehillxl's reviews
131 reviews
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
3.0
I think it needed one more push. It’s a super depressing read. There’s just not much joy to it. I think because I never quite was captivated by the characterizations the melodrama fell a little flat for me. I wish I could give half stars because that’s really where it falls for me. The prologue is amazing and the second half is captivating, but the stuff in between is a little messy. The first person perspective gets a little lost at times due to Baldwin choosing to break voice to show off his prose. I love prose but it’s a little distracting in a novella written in first person when the narrative voice doesn’t lend itself to prose. All that to say it doesn’t flow very well at times. It’s very much an anti romance, and that’s not really what I was expecting. I’m a little disappointed by the fact that all the characters are white. But, it makes sense when you think of it as an imagined happening based on Baldwin’s experiences in Paris. I do think it’s a missed opportunity to represent his specific intersectionality. It made it harder to empathize with the characters as there gay experiences diverged further and further from my own. Ultimately I was expecting more of a Magnum Opus and got more of an early work.
The Chiffon Trenches: A Memoir by André Leon Talley
4.0
I’m a little confused about why the top reviews are so low. This was a really interesting and captivating read. I don’t know if people aren’t used to reading celebrity memoirs, but it’s a little weird to judge the person when you simply could have just not read the book, in my opinion. I was entertained, and I enjoy Talley. If I didn’t I probably would have not read the book. Memoirs are the authors perspective on their own life. If you want objective opinion you should probably not be reading memoirs. It gave me everything I wanted. I’ll probably enjoy it even more on reread.
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks
5.0
Very transformational in how it challenges you to interrogate your own relationship with patriarchy especially as a victim. I’ll probably think about this book for the rest of my life in many things I do. A pivotal book for me definitely.