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A review by cowardlyteaman
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
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
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
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