Reviews with content warning for Murder - Giovanni's Room

Not because I don't love James Baldwin but because at times I found the plot a bit dry and slow. But because I want to read more Baldwin I'll be moving onto some Parisian essays

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apthompson's review against another edition

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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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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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fishweb's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

id like to point out that i read the last 2 chapters whilst listening to radiohead and it made it sm more gut wrenching x

ts is so well written and so character driven. i loved it so much, even when i put it down i couldn't stop thinking about it.

i've seen people complaining about the ‘lack of plot’ and to that i say: you are unfathomably stupid and completely missed the point. its the equivalent to reading an autobiography and then complaining that its too much like real life?!?

also there was nothing more satisfying than hella absolutely gagging david at the end. he was such a terrible person who never truly cared abt anyone else and yet he always played the “woe is me” card. hella and giovanni should've teamed up and killed his ass!!

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carolive's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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marthadude's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

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readingoverbreathing's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This was simply beautiful. I enjoyed If Beale Street Could Talk, but this was an entirely other experience for me, sad, tragic, yet so very tender.

It's frustrating that this story is crafted to inevitably end in tragedy, and that frustration, as well as the general disregard for the very few female characters, that dropped this a star for me. I also found it quite difficult to really sympathize with David. Living in an entirely different time, under complex societal pressures I can excuse, but a lot of his suffering really was of his own making, his self-destructive tendency to distance and even extract himself from those he loved most.

But overall, this truly is a beautiful book, so richly evocative of Paris and interior spaces, of human body language and emotion. This is canonical reading that is not to be missed.

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