Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

28 reviews

sarah_kula's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

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sophiiey's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-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

3.75

This book encapsulates the numb feeling that society instills in people, particularly men. It feels unresolved and frustrating when I think about how it has been 70 years since this was written and yet can still see similarities happening now. 
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kmshobbs's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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messymimms's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Another sad and sadly important book! I understand why it’s a classic, as it does what classics do best, delve into a deeply specific situation that has some bearing on universal human themes and emotions. At its heart, Giovanni’s room is a story about shame. 

It chronicles what happens when the object of your desire is so unthinkable (read: a man) that they become grotesque and despised by virtue of your own projected self-hatred. Not easy reading. 

The narrator is admirably reflective; he dodges and intellectualises but really, he knows how he feels. Baldwin accurately describes those moments where you can see the truth inside yourself, *somewhere over there* but you daren’t look in case it catches the light and becomes more real.

He is also painfully observant, detail-obsessed and speculative. Always going off and describing the projected inner workings of someone else’s life. Often women - such strange creatures! Speaking from a 21st Century ADHD perspective, he sounds neurodivergent. But that’s just opinion! 

Beyond being a story of shame, this novel also talks about codependency, with characters smearing boundaries all over the place and taking advantage of power (the power of shame? Maybe that’s putting it too simply). It’s a mess! But that’s the point. 

The writing itself is intense. There are long sentences. There are big words. There were some new words for me, like “unregenerate” and - dear god - it drilled the word sardonic into my mind. A lot of people in this book act sardonically. Some of it is in French, but I rather enjoyed that. 

Especially towards the beginning, the language is dynamic and very exciting; heat “bangs” against walls, light “spills” covering everything, telephone poles “come crying out” as you speed towards them. This shifts through the novel, and towards the end is where I felt it became dense and a little tepid. This seems to reflect the main character’s depth of despair, which kind of works, I guess. 

We have a great view into the inner machinery of the narrator’s mind, his attempts to cover-up, his little lies, his big ones, his overthinking, his biases and his bigotry too. The rest of the view is Paris and its characters, with all of their flaws laid out. So. Many. Flaws. 

Look, there are reasons I have not ventured to Paris in my adult life. I’m allergic to hedonism. At best I don’t get it, at worst it disgusts really bothers me. The wine, the intensity, all of those varied and supposedly wondrous plaisirs of the flesh - not my bag. Don’t come for me, I’ve got my own shit, I’m in therapy!!! 

As such, a book like this was never going to be meant for me. I’ve never felt David nor Giovanni’s particular gut-wrenching anguish, their need to be close and the impossibility of that, but overall, Giovanni’s Room truly had its moments. Despite being heady, intellectual and anxiety-inducing, it felt authentic. I have no doubt Baldwin wrote from experience. 

For anyone looking to really delve into the mind of a queer person in the 1950s, I would consider this essential reading. I suppose I’d just ask you to remember it doesn’t represent all queer people. Many of us can (thankfully) both love and like each other. 
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cowardlyteaman's review against another edition

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challenging 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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wasn't sure what I was expecting from this book, but it certainly surpassed all expectations.
I'm embarrassed to admit that I'd never heard of Baldwin until I came across this book in the shelf, but holy mother of Christ, he's an EXCELLENT author.

I really do love how realistic the characters here are. They're all atrocious human beings,  but in a natural way. They're so repressed and internalised everything, that it makes sense how they act like they do. And I must say that, as a queer guy, I was very charmed by Giovanni myself in the beginning, too. Had a strong love-hate relationship with all the characters, but Jacques especially.

The ending was very satisfactory and realistic. I'm terrible at advertising books, but this was seriously an amazing read. Not a happy one, by all means. Lost all hope in my community. But a good read nonetheless. 10/10
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everesto's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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

4.25

I read this book for school and really enjoyed it. All of the characters (except Hella) were all awful people and like half of them were pedophiles BUT I was very invested in the story and really wanted to know how the story got to the point where Giovanni was getting executed. Baldwins writing style is very beautiful and the way he uses repetition of words to reinforce and highlight certain ideas really stuck out to me. I also really liked the way he switched between tenses so often, not many other writers would not have been able to pull that off without it being really confusing. I was not a fan of the portrayal of trans/genderqueer people or the ideas on women but I think that's due to just who David is as a character and also the time this book was written.
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ryanmerchant's review against another edition

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

4.5

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simplythegirl's review against another edition

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

5.0

This is definitely  my favorite James Baldwin book. He explores questioning and denying one's sexual identity, power dynamics, class differences,  citizenship, the American dream, homophobia, and racism. Racism can be seen when you decode his characters I believe if Baldwin was alive today he definitely  would have made David obviously African American since he would no longer have to worry about audiences laughing him off/not taking him serious for having an African American man who questions his sexual identity as a main character. The writing is beautiful and I love the symbolism.


By the end of the book it seems like how David identifies (gay straight or bisexual) is still up for debate. His decision in the end can be seen as further denial of his true self especially during times where it wasn't  accepted to be anything but straight  but others can interpret his decision as ending an experimental time for David.

 His decision could also be symbolic of  a part of himself dying  much like Giovanni died.
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marionhoney's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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viiiolet_starlight's review against another edition

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

5.0

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