A review by mafiabadgers
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

First read 10/2024

Very beautiful, and very sad. All the characters are riddled with fear and hatred and envy. The effect is strangely reminiscent of Tanith Lee, which I attribute to the sentence structure and use of commas. Fantastic examination of shame. David's dissection of the actions and motives of others plays wonderfully with his constant self-manipulation and need to arrange circumstances to push him in the direction he wants, at that moment, to go. I am left melancholy and off-kilter.