A review by zmorgason
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Honesty is intimacy, and intimacy is vulnerability. In a world where one's own flesh is traded for food—where a dirty old fairy's seed is an outrageous aperitif before the first hot meal you've had in weeks—it's not easy to be vulnerable. So it's much easier to lie. But when you lie to yourself, you hate yourself. And when you hate yourself, you hate everything your eyes see, everything which touches you skin, all the places where, and people whereon you rest your weary head. Drenched in the sweet odors of cognac, cigarette smoke, and cold dripping sweat, love stories don't come more tragic than this, mes chers. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia

This story is about a man, David, who suffers from severe internalized homophobia. As such, many of his inner thoughts express disgust at both homosexual men and transgender women.