Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

138 reviews

carpethatdiem2's review against another edition

• 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

"Perhaps everybody has a garden of Eden, I don't know; but they have scarcely seen their garden of Eden before they see the flaming sword. Then, perhaps, life only offers the choice of remembering the garden or forgetting it. Either, or: it takes strength to remember, it takes another kind of strength to forget, it takes a hero to do both. People who remember court madness through pain, the pain of the perpetually recurring death of their innocence; people who forget court another kind of madness, the madness of the denial of pain and the hatred of innocence; and the world is mostly divided between madmen who remember and madmen who forget. Heroes are rare."

minus half a star for classic 1950s misogyny 👍🏻

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Outing

bridgedeebookish95's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.75

A revolutionary novel. Truly. Baldwin’s words are timeless. This felt almost cinematic or theatrical in the way the dialogue flowed. I enjoyed it a lot. Equal parts devastating and frustrating. Beautifully written narrative about class, identity, and the ways in which one is conditioned to hide themselves from not only strangers and those closest to them, but themselves as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Transphobia

os_irving's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content and Alcohol

noonanjohnc's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Transphobia

bookwormcat's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

itsjadenbaby's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I can officially say that a book has  put me in a reading slump for being too good! The novel is perfection. There were lines in this that had my jaw on the floor because of how hard hitting yet beautiful they were.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

quinn24's review against another edition

5.0

Thank you James Baldwin for writing about internalised homophobia, toxic masculinity, and  how the closet kills, I love you. I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus.

Alexa play good luck, babe! by Chappell Roan

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cursing and Miscarriage

ericispublius's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Baldwin writes with a heart-tearing beauty; he sees humanity in its tribulation & lamentation — each inseparable

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Outing, and Alcohol

apthompson's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

charlotteoftheweb's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad

4.0

This was a fascinating and tragic novel. The fascinating part was the glimpse into a man from the 50s acutely struggling with his internalized homophobia (and the very real threat of external homophobia as well). But it was tragic because, as outsiders, we could see every bad decision that David made, and we wish we could do better, but we know he won't.  And, despite the fact that I'm a woman from 2024, there were countless pages that I dogeared solely because I could relate so strongly to David and his anxieties.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol