Reviews tagging 'Death'

Giovanni's Room, by James Baldwin

92 reviews

lollipopkenny123's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Misogyny

addyruth17's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Grief, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault, Cursing, and Miscarriage

laurendenton's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Alcohol, and Misogyny

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Cursing, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Death of parent, Violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

Minor: Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

brianna_reading5's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

an underrated classic. can schools please give James Baldwin the love he deserves because this man can write?!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Murder

crowdenks's review

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Fatphobia, Transphobia, and Miscarriage

jem_carstairs's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The writing was beautiful and the story was sad, but I couldn’t bring myself to give enough of a shit about any of the characters to get hugely invested in the story

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Homophobia

Minor: Sexual content

danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is one of those books I've been like, ah I gotta read it, forever. And I finally did it. This book did not disappoint. Beautiful, brutal, intricate, this short novel packs a huge punch, exploring internalized homophobia, xenophobia, classism, and systemic disenfranchisement, all within a contained story of a doomed romance between two men from wildly different backgrounds over several weeks in Paris in the late 1950s. Baldwin is also in peak form here, with his signature incisive social commentary delivered through characters with deep complexity and humanity.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Homophobia, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Death, and Outing

imaginefishes's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

i don’t know what else i can say about this except it resonated hard. im gay

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Murder, Infidelity, Grief, and Death

Minor: Homophobia and Sexual content

juleserenity's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Struggling to give this a full 5 because of how sad this made me. i I will always love Baldwin’s work. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Death

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Murder

hilaryreadsbooks's review against another edition

5.0

It was about time I read a book by James Baldwin. In GIOVANNI’S ROOM, David, a white American expat in Paris begins a passionate relationship with a beautiful man, Giovanni, even as he struggles with his own torturous denial of his homosexuality. The way Baldwin depicts David’s interiority as he finds himself caught in the push and pull of internal desire against societal norms is devastating, and even more so for Giovanni, who is caught in the middle of David’s panic, shame, and fear. In particular, I admire the way Baldwin includes such varied depictions of constructed manhood, contrasted against both the other male and female characters, in such a short book. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Death