Reviews tagging Physical abuse

Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin

6 reviews

noblekylie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and Violence

maess's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Murder, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Racism and Suicide

jeremie's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Murder

lucykateburns's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, and Self harm

Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

whatannikareads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i was afraid that i was gonna go into this with too high of expectations but goddamn i was so emotional—not necessarily crying but i was just SO emotionally invested in these characters. this story isn't even 200 pages and it is filled to the brim with beautiful prose (some of which I don't think I'm smart enough to understand but still enjoyed lol). Each character was so flawed but you still felt for them. I took a bit of adjusting in order to settle into Baldwin's writing style but when it came full circle at the end i just wanted to reread it again because i was like, oh OH OH THIS IS HAPPENING NOW AHHHHH.

i think this might be one of my favorite books of all time. i love how it's not stretched for 100 more pages of fluff. i loved the american expat feeling that i've felt before and am anxious to encounter again in my near future moving overseas. i can't believe this was written in the 1950s (i believe) and it's still like a good indie film that could be released today. i loveddddddddd this, THE DIALOGUE IS THE HEART OF THIS BOOK GOD i was just GLUED to the page with the back and forth. ugh so good.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

fightingmarc's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Giovanni's Room has a similar feeling to the book I had just finished reading before, Yukio Mishima's Forbidden Colours, however the emotional payoff here has much more impact. Most queer people who read Giovanni's Room can see themselves in some way with the struggle of Giovanni, David and even Hella. Baldwin's writing is beautiful, and the last fifty pages of the story were weaved so intricately that the climax of the story, which you are warned about early on in the book, still manages a suckerpunch. This is a classic queer tragedy, and one that struck me with an intensity I haven't felt in a while.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence