Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

5 reviews

cowardlyteaman's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

im_eebee's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-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

1.75

Beautifully written, but I hate the main character with a burning passion. I need him to get over himself yesterday. All he does is hurt people. I don’t like books where the main character is so deeply unaware of how their actions affect others. Some people will find that as the highlight of this book, but I find it frustrating to read. I’ll definitely check out Baldwin’s other work because the writing style was the only part of this that I liked, but this was a miss for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism

opossumom's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

deliriah's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Alcohol

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

lyrapollock's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Homophobia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Car accident, and Alcohol