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josiee123's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
sarah_kula's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Murder
fishweb's review against another edition
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!!
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!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Misogyny and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage
carolive's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
marthadude's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
readingoverbreathing's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Minor: Murder
miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Gorgeous writing
‘Perhaps he is a fool and a coward but almost everybody is one or the other and most people are both.’
‘perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.’
‘What a long way, I thought, I've come - to be destroyed!’
‘My executioners are here with me, walking up and down with me, washing things, and packing, and drinking from my bottle. They are everywhere I turn.’
‘’For a woman,' she said, I think a man is always a stranger.’
‘The stone of the city, which had been luminous and changing, faded slowly, but with no hesitation, into simple grey stone again. It was apparent that the stone was hard. Daily, fishermen disappeared from the river until, one day, the river banks were clear. The bodies of young boys and girls began to be compromised by heavy underwear, by sweaters and mufflers, hoods and capes. Old men seemed older, old women slower.’
‘There seemed to be no one on the streets at all. It seemed inconceivable that the day would ever break.’
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder
annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
in the last book i read, Greta & Valdin, Valdin is praised for not being "one of those gay men who says awful things about women" and reading that i was like what! which gay men are those, i'll fight them. these are those gay men.
i was expecting a tragedy of forbidden love between expats in Europe, a proto–Call Me By Your Name, but that's not what this is. rather, Giovanni's Room is a character study of two lost men who come to depend on each other for purpose, until their foundations crumble. the pacing was excellent and the journey as bleak as it was for our characters. i was going to make fun of my edition's Tortured Poets Department–ass cover (black-and-white photo of subject posed in almost cartoonish angst), but it's actually quite fitting:David, our narrator, is the smallest man who ever lived. they're both terrible misogynists, don't get me wrong, but this one is literally an emotional terrorist (albeit unintentional, i believe).
i was expecting a tragedy of forbidden love between expats in Europe, a proto–Call Me By Your Name, but that's not what this is. rather, Giovanni's Room is a character study of two lost men who come to depend on each other for purpose, until their foundations crumble. the pacing was excellent and the journey as bleak as it was for our characters. i was going to make fun of my edition's Tortured Poets Department–ass cover (black-and-white photo of subject posed in almost cartoonish angst), but it's actually quite fitting:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Death of parent
kmshobbs's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Outing