Wolfram-Jaymes Keesing
asked:
I'm up to chapter three and I'm struggling to keep interested. Baldwin squeezes as much information into every sentence he can with comma handles and semi-colons, and I feel he goes into a lot of detail explaining things that aren't even relevant. I'd like to get through this, so I want to know: what kept YOU reading?
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Chip Howell
The poetic language of the book is what kept me reading, that and this particular novel's similarities to the work of Franz Kafka (in totally unexpected ways, but I'd spoil the plot if I said how: nobody turns into cockroaches or anything, but there is a certain attitude that is very "Kafkaesque" and it makes you wanna strangle the protagonist,or at least slap him every three pages) I think that the hardest thing to actually deal with in terms of this book is the fact that it's old fashoned in so many ways: that's not a bad thing: but for readers more accustomed to the brevity common in more contemporary writing, the slower pacing is a HUGE turnoff and it seems to linger over things that don't seem that important or that big a deal, but given the time in which this novel was written, the very idea of a men being affectionate towards one another was unheard of and couldn't actually be written about without heavy, heavy censorship.
As for what kept me reading was the fact that I loved the language of the book more than I loved the story itself. Baldwin is a master of the mood and if you approach his prose the way you'd approach music or a poem then that might help, the relationships between words in the novel are as important as the story that the novel is telling. The point of Baldwin's writing wasn't to "get to the end of the story" but to enjoy the ride through it, and to learn something along the way. The real drawback is that the story itself proceeds from an older, outmoded, outdated concept of human sexuality and many of the moral attitudes prevailing when it was written are VERY apparent in the way the novel skips over the juicy bits, while continually pointing to them and apparently lingering over things that don't seem to have relevance to the story, but considering the amount of repression in American society at the time this was written, it would probably help to look for various clues about the story in the stuff that doesn't seem related. Also, what's hilarious is the camp wasn't camp at the time Giovanni's Room was written, that's what was expected, and indeed the characters themselves reflect those older, brutally hetero-normative attitudes in their interactions (or lack of them.)
I think this is a great novel, but its flaw is its age. Non-hetero writing no longer needs to closet itself and go in circles around a subject, and though this is a brilliant and relevant novel, it had to put itself at least partially in the closet so to speak. I'd suggest that you continue reading, but if possible, try to "relax into the language" and just go where it leads you. Be aware of the emotional connotations and implications of those apparently endless descriptions; if possible, try to get a bead on how sensual and sensuous those sentences are; but ultimately, if that kind of language isn't your thing, then just be aware that you're reading an artifact of another age, when life itself was lived at a different pace. That might not help you to get through it, but it'll hopefully put some of the "dullness" into perspective.
As for what kept me reading was the fact that I loved the language of the book more than I loved the story itself. Baldwin is a master of the mood and if you approach his prose the way you'd approach music or a poem then that might help, the relationships between words in the novel are as important as the story that the novel is telling. The point of Baldwin's writing wasn't to "get to the end of the story" but to enjoy the ride through it, and to learn something along the way. The real drawback is that the story itself proceeds from an older, outmoded, outdated concept of human sexuality and many of the moral attitudes prevailing when it was written are VERY apparent in the way the novel skips over the juicy bits, while continually pointing to them and apparently lingering over things that don't seem to have relevance to the story, but considering the amount of repression in American society at the time this was written, it would probably help to look for various clues about the story in the stuff that doesn't seem related. Also, what's hilarious is the camp wasn't camp at the time Giovanni's Room was written, that's what was expected, and indeed the characters themselves reflect those older, brutally hetero-normative attitudes in their interactions (or lack of them.)
I think this is a great novel, but its flaw is its age. Non-hetero writing no longer needs to closet itself and go in circles around a subject, and though this is a brilliant and relevant novel, it had to put itself at least partially in the closet so to speak. I'd suggest that you continue reading, but if possible, try to "relax into the language" and just go where it leads you. Be aware of the emotional connotations and implications of those apparently endless descriptions; if possible, try to get a bead on how sensual and sensuous those sentences are; but ultimately, if that kind of language isn't your thing, then just be aware that you're reading an artifact of another age, when life itself was lived at a different pace. That might not help you to get through it, but it'll hopefully put some of the "dullness" into perspective.
Scott Amundsen
It may simply be a question of taste. I have read a lot of Baldwin and to me his prose has a dreamy, poetic quality that is almost like music; whenever I have read a Baldwin novel my biggest struggle has always been to put the book down.
Mario
Relieved to see that I am not alone in thinking this book tedious! To answer your question: I just wanted to finish it as I hate leaving books unfinished.
Gina Andrews
I listened to this as an audiobook while walking and the sentences seemed to flow. Also, I find other books written in a similar style much easier to listen to as audiobooks rather than read in print. Usually, those books are ones that were written in the 18th and 19th century.
Wolfram-Jaymes Keesing
I did express my frustrations at a book group a month back, and an older gentleman was utterly offended. I really do want to finish this book.
I've been reading up on superfluous language as a mode of CAMP, which I love; but I still struggle with it.
I'll keep working on it. Thank you for your replies.
I've been reading up on superfluous language as a mode of CAMP, which I love; but I still struggle with it.
I'll keep working on it. Thank you for your replies.
Ciara
I find this to be the case with most of Baldwin's work. He tends to talk on and on and on.
Karina
I agree with Scott Amundsen. Also, he is writing about issues that some aren't comfortable with and perhaps to some, it can be scary to imagine being in that position. That is what I love about Baldwin.
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