From the Bookshelf of Constant Reader…

Giovanni’s Room

James Baldwin

Start date: April 1, 2009

Discussion: Classics Corner

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What Members Thought

Mar 20, 2009 Al rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: recent-favorites, 2009-books

incredibly well-written, disturbing yet beautiful. i can't think of another book that describes so well the way you can go from loving to hating someone, as well as all the self-loathing. i understand why this is considered gay-lit, but I think that classifies it far too narrowly. Anyone who has loved and struggled can identify with this book. ...more

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Sep 11, 2010 Laura rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, novellas, read-2010, classics, audio-books

James Baldwin's classic novel in its world premiere radio production, set in Paris, 1954. When handsome blond American David meets the stunning Giovanni in a "bohemian" Parisian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But David's fiancé, Hella, returns to Paris and, unable to admit the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened, with calamitous results for all three, especially for Giovanni, whose life descends into murderous tragedy.
Dramatised for radio and directed by leading the ...more

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Apr 19, 2009 Debbie Petersen Wolven rated it really liked it

I love when I have the rare experience of reading a book like this one. This is my first James Baldwin and I will be looking for more of his work. What talent! I wish I had taken the time to write down my favorite passages as I read through, and the book is overdue to go back to the library, but here are two:

Ellen always seemed to be watching him as though she were afraid that he would do something awful, watched him and watched the women and, yes, she flirted with the men in a strange, nerve-wr ...more

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Jan 14, 2019 Dree rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-reads, continental-europe, african-am-can-diaspora-lit, 1001-read, lgbtq

3.5 stars--may up later, I think this book may stick with me

I have heard so many raves about this book, and I think I built it way up in my mind. And there was nothing wrong with it--it is quite well done. But it didn't live up to my expectations. I also felt like it was snippets--or, rather, that there were significant snippets missing. Like David's whole first year in Paris--is that when and where he met Hella? How long and significant was their relationship when she went to Spain? How long ha ...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Pang rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: constant-reader, 2015

I really enjoyed this book even though I didn't have any expectation going in. I appreciated the story-telling by Baldwin, that I could sense the emotions felt by the characters with each words. And what made it even more better was that it was sensual without being sexual (unlike Lady Chatterley's Lover, for example). It was such a sad and heart-breaking story (and it's not a spoiler since you find out almost right away what has happened). Love is complicated enough without the sexuality of the ...more

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