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amiboughter's review against another edition
5.0
Baldwin goes for the throat right away by quoting Whitman with the hardest epigraph I can think of: "I am the man, I suffered, I was there."
This should have warned me to brace myself, but every re-read is just as brutal.
"For I am – or I was – one of those people who pride themselves on their willpower, on their ability to make a decision and carry it through. This virtue, like most virtues, is ambiguity itself. People who believe that they are strong-willed and the masters of their destiny can only continue to believe this by becoming specialists in self-deception. Their decisions are not really decisions at all – a real decision makes one humble, one knows that it is at the mercy of more things than can be named – but elaborate systems of evasion, of illusion, designed to make themselves and the world appear to be what they and the world are not. This is certainly what my decision, made so long ago in Joey’s bed, came to. I had decided to allow no room in the universe for something which shamed and frightened me. I succeeded very well – by not looking at the universe, by not looking at myself, by remaining, in effect, in constant motion. ”
This should have warned me to brace myself, but every re-read is just as brutal.
"For I am – or I was – one of those people who pride themselves on their willpower, on their ability to make a decision and carry it through. This virtue, like most virtues, is ambiguity itself. People who believe that they are strong-willed and the masters of their destiny can only continue to believe this by becoming specialists in self-deception. Their decisions are not really decisions at all – a real decision makes one humble, one knows that it is at the mercy of more things than can be named – but elaborate systems of evasion, of illusion, designed to make themselves and the world appear to be what they and the world are not. This is certainly what my decision, made so long ago in Joey’s bed, came to. I had decided to allow no room in the universe for something which shamed and frightened me. I succeeded very well – by not looking at the universe, by not looking at myself, by remaining, in effect, in constant motion. ”
doorndoosje's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
Everytime I seem quiet it's because I'm thinking about this book and it's characters.
tobylawrence'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sagetheginger's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
Such complex and layered themes, an experience to read
reading_rita's review against another edition
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
"Giovanni's Room" is a beautiful, lyrical, tragic, and heartbreakingly sad novel, filled with shame, longing, and the main character's painful inability to accept one's true self.
I tried to inhale every word and image, yet despite my best efforts, I’m not sure I fully grasped all the complexities and subtleties of the novel on my first read. It’s the kind of book that I know will reveal more layers with each revisit.
The audio narration by Matt Bomer was stunning—his voice perfectly matched the tone of Baldwin’s writing—though I switched to paperback after running out of time on Spotify.
It’s a novel that requires - and deserves - careful, thoughtful reading, and I have no doubt I’ll come back to it in the future.
4.25/5 ⭐
I tried to inhale every word and image, yet despite my best efforts, I’m not sure I fully grasped all the complexities and subtleties of the novel on my first read. It’s the kind of book that I know will reveal more layers with each revisit.
The audio narration by Matt Bomer was stunning—his voice perfectly matched the tone of Baldwin’s writing—though I switched to paperback after running out of time on Spotify.
It’s a novel that requires - and deserves - careful, thoughtful reading, and I have no doubt I’ll come back to it in the future.
4.25/5 ⭐
Love him,’ said Jacques, with vehemence, ‘love him and let him love you. Do you think anything else under heaven really matters? And how long, at the best, can it last, since you are both men and still have everywhere to go? Only five minutes, I assure you, only five minutes, and most of that, helas! in the dark. And if you think of them as dirty, then they will be dirty— they will be dirty because you will be giving nothing, you will be despising your flesh and his. But you can make your time together anything but dirty, you can give each other something which will make both of you better—forever—if you will not be ashamed, if you will only not play it safe.’ He paused, watching me, and then looked down to his cognac. ‘You play it safe long enough,’ he said, in a different tone, ‘and you’ll end up trapped in your own dirty body, forever and forever and forever—like me.
ashdevito's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
5.0
A really good read! Despite the plot being given away in the introductory of this edition it doesn't fault the book in fact I'd argue it expands the book. A masterclass of writing a must read for every young queen person or a good book to introduce those to Baldwin and his work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
ecokai's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
lilybob05's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5