A review by likecymbeline
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

4.0

I've intended to read this book since high school at least, as it's one of the early standard-bearers of gay fiction. I knew it would be depressing and ill-fated - it pretty well had to be. But Baldwin is an intelligent, empathetic, and fluid writer with a great grasp of his characters and his intent. It endures as a time-capsule of gay life in Paris and as a story of inevitable tragedy.