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What Members Thought
Beautifully written. Baldwin, I feel, sometimes starts strong, ends strong, but gets a bit sloppy in the middle. Not so with Giovanni’s Room. Passionate without being coarse, beautiful without being sappy. Real without being crass. True and honest. Modern authors (Roxane Gay) would be doing their readers a great favor if they read the classics before picking up pens of their own.
This is the second book I've read by James Baldwin, Go Tell it on the Mountain being the first (which I absolutely loved). Again, Baldwin writing is wonderful and I am glad I read the book. I had a really hard time connecting with the characters, so I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.
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I have started this one once before, and just find it boring. The language is too flowery and the characters are too extra and melodramatic. I appreciate that this is a classic from a different time and place, but it was a bear to get through.
May 18, 2013
Terri
marked it as boxall-s-1001
Feb 21, 2017
silly_soup
marked it as to-read
Oct 05, 2017
Juliana Philippa
marked it as to-read
Jan 01, 2018
Lori Williams
added it
Feb 05, 2019
Curlysue
marked it as to-read
Apr 03, 2021
Jennifer
marked it as to-read
Aug 02, 2022
Anu
marked it as to-read
Aug 07, 2022
Anna Ruth FL
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Apr 13, 2025
Pantteri
marked it as to-read
