Point Books During Giovanni’s Room
Original Title: | Giovanni's Room |
ISBN: | 0141186356 (ISBN13: 9780141186351) |
Edition Language: | English |
Setting: | Paris(France) |
James Baldwin
Paperback | Pages: 159 pages Rating: 4.24 | 50603 Users | 4162 Reviews
Chronicle To Books Giovanni’s Room
An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here. Baldwin's haunting and controversial second novel is his most sustained treatment of sexuality, and a classic of gay literature. In a 1950s Paris swarming with expatriates and characterized by dangerous liaisons and hidden violence, an American finds himself unable to repress his impulses, despite his determination to live the conventional life he envisions for himself. After meeting and proposing to a young woman, he falls into a lengthy affair with an Italian bartender and is confounded and tortured by his sexual identity as he oscillates between the two. Examining the mystery of love and passion in an intensely imagined narrative, Baldwin creates a moving and complex story of death and desire that is revelatory in its insight.
Mention About Books Giovanni’s Room
Title | : | Giovanni’s Room |
Author | : | James Baldwin |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 159 pages |
Published | : | June 2000 by Penguin (first published 1956) |
Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. LGBT. GLBT. Queer. Novels. Gay. Cultural. African American |
Rating About Books Giovanni’s Room
Ratings: 4.24 From 50603 Users | 4162 ReviewsAppraise About Books Giovanni’s Room
"for nothing is more unbearable, once one has it, than freedom."- James Baldwin, Giovanni's Room Baldwin is everything. He ability to articulate the struggle to be a man in a world where both black men and gay men were considered 2nd class (if lucky) citizens taught me. He is the reason I read (or at least one of the reasons) good fiction. It transports me into the experience of the other. His writing is a gift. The emotions of this novel are expressed as if Baldwin's heart was set aflame inI like this more than the three stars would indicate. The melodrama was a problem for me. The plot is simple and brilliantly done. David the American doesnt want to admit he has homosexual impulses. His fiancée, Hella, doesnt know hes gay because David doesnt know it. David is confused, as his friend Jacques at one point remarks. Hes experiencing major cognitive dissonance, simultaneously knowing something and acting as if it werent so. For he has met the beautiful, the irresistible Giovanni.
A grim tale of human relations, told by one of the most unpleasant protagonists I've ever encountered. The story left me drained and angry, but it's an important book, and an exceptional read.

"If your countrymen think that privacy is a crime, so much the worse for your country..." Love is(n't) enough.Love is(n't) enough in how it's done. Love is(n't) enough in how it's pressed upon and consolidated and ultimately allowed. When you look at it, especially when looking is all that's allowed, you start to feel that it's how it's always been, and you are the same as anyone. Unless you talk, which here on out is (never) the case. But feeling, though. That's the compass of your crime. It
This is a tragedy of failed love in post-war Paris, featuring a protagonist as hard to judge as Camus' "The Stranger." The narrator, David, is a young man on an extended stay from the U.S. on parental funds, ostensibly to develop his writing skills, but in reality to play. A transient gay fling with an impoverished, artistic Bohemian leads to an idyllic cohabitation while his fiancé travels in the East. You know it didnt last from the beginning of the book, but as the affair proceeds, you feel
A wise and painful book, it speaks of authenticity and home and loss, how we convince ourselves to make irrevocable mistakes and how these choices harden in us and reveal themselves to strangers. I hope it continues to be as beautiful. This is a book I want to own and make room for. I'm making slow progress, but only because I'm distracted by life, not because the book doesn't capture my attention and consideration. It becomes even more powerful as it goes on, in fact, and even more painful.
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