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A review by annoyedhumanoid
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
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