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Giovanni Room Penguin Modern Classics James Baldwin 9780141186351 Books

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Giovanni Room Penguin Modern Classics James Baldwin 9780141186351 Books

I’m glad to have finally read this important work. After all these years, the basic societal and political ideas expressed are still apropos today. Yet I’m compelled to imagine how the reader reacted when Giovanni's Room was first published, decades ago. Did the themes have a different significance? Was it a book one might read when everyone else had gone to bed? The relationships were likely considered sensational except for how deftly Baldwin dealt with the subject matter, on the most subtle level.

In many places during those time the risk of harassment and arrest, combined with a diagnosis of mental illness, likely clouded over what could have been honorable and lovely life experiences for young men, such as in the beginning of the book when David woke and observed his friend Joey still asleep.

Now that the world is not so cruel, at least here in the West, where society is less apt to treat the Giovanni's and the Joey's as something akin to zoo animals, and more like human beings, capable of innocence and passion, perhaps a character like David would embrace and celebrate his knowing these two, instead of reacting to an inevitable sense of revulsion he was taught to feel. As it was, an unkind separation from David might have been Joey’s good fortune, unlike Giovanni's fateful end after investing so much time together.

Since there were no words like homophobia sixty years ago and society had not come to terms with how two men might love each other, I wonder why Baldwin knew to write Giovanni’s Room. He may have lived some of David’s dishonesty; but did he also have his own “Joey” experience, where he found himself in the arms of a friend one night, a friend who then walked away and turned on him? I ponder whether he processed some pain by writing about this character David, a character that rained collateral damage on Joey, Giovanni, and Hella, and in the end had to face the consequences of what he had wrought as dawn signaled his return to Paris, and to a circle of life that began the morning he forced himself to walk out of Joey’s house in Brooklyn, away from a friend that deep inside he might run back to in an instant if the world had been a different place.


Tags : Giovanni's Room (Penguin Modern Classics) [James Baldwin] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Considered an 'audacious' second novel, Giovanni's Room is set in the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons,James Baldwin,Giovanni's Room (Penguin Modern Classics),Gardners Books,0141186356,Classic fiction,General & Literary Fiction,Modern fiction,Fiction

Giovanni Room Penguin Modern Classics James Baldwin 9780141186351 Books Reviews

If I could give this more than a 5, I would. So beautifully written! The emotion and feelings of the narrator, even when confused and conflicted, just pours out. One of the few books where I literally cried at the end, and hoped until the last page, that there would be a "save". It's the kind of book where you wish you could move forward about two years after the end of the book to see what happens. Whether the characters were likable or not (some were, some weren't), they were portrayed perfectly by the author. First Baldwin book for me, won't be the last.
James Baldwin's "Giovanni's Room" is truly a magnificent novel, a book 30 years before its time. It is both a psychological and sociological drama, set in Paris, France with a lingering commentary on American morals running throughout the book. It was published in 1956 and it is definitely one of the first novels that addresses homosexuality in a mature and intelligent manner. The characters are portrayed so honestly that the reader, despite one's sexual orientation, is able to identify with the confusion the characters feel over their sexuality, the bigotry they encounter when they venture outside their communities and the loneliness and isolation they suffer as they come to grips with their uniqueness. 

Mr. Baldwin's novel is bold and powerful, superbly written, and I strongly recommend this amazing piece of literature.
Loved it. Read it for a sexuality and lit class and it was my favorite book. Baldwin is such an incredible writer, and his words were able to touch me even after several decades after this was first published. I'm a young lesbian, but I could still identify with several themes in the book, as well as the fact I could relate to EXACTLY how David (the main character) felt. This is what literature is all about. I'm grateful that this book is what introduced me to James Baldwin's writing, as I can't wait to read the other novels written by such an incredible and influential person.
Beautiful & tragic love story~ way ahead of its time. James Baldwin was a brilliant writer~ & a courageous one. He depicts men and women,
and characters of so many cultures, in such a real, honest and beautiful way. "Giovanni's Room" is romantic, sad, and perfect~ it tells the truth about a time and culture that still exists in many ways today. I read his non-fiction "The Fire Next Time" and was in awe. His fiction is amazing too. Read "Another Country" before this novel~ another wonderful book. But I think "Giovanni's Room" is better and also a good place to start if you are interested in Baldwin's fiction. The characters will stay with me for a long time.
The writing is so good that I found myself occasionally pausing and wondering just how James Baldwin constructed such beautiful sentences. He has a unique style with a unique way of sentence structure that took a VERY brief moment to get into, but once I did I found the text flowing beautifully as if I was on a literary boat ride moving up and down with the swells. There was a lot of pathos in the story and the characters were fully fleshed out. It is remarkable that this book was written in the early fifties. The description on the back of the book is slightly misleading in that it is not really a love triangle (that phrase is not stated, but implied) as much as a story about two men, one of which has a not present fiancee who is only tangentially important to the story. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who appreciates beautifully written, well thought out plots with engaging characters.
I’m glad to have finally read this important work. After all these years, the basic societal and political ideas expressed are still apropos today. Yet I’m compelled to imagine how the reader reacted when Giovanni's Room was first published, decades ago. Did the themes have a different significance? Was it a book one might read when everyone else had gone to bed? The relationships were likely considered sensational except for how deftly Baldwin dealt with the subject matter, on the most subtle level.

In many places during those time the risk of harassment and arrest, combined with a diagnosis of mental illness, likely clouded over what could have been honorable and lovely life experiences for young men, such as in the beginning of the book when David woke and observed his friend Joey still asleep.

Now that the world is not so cruel, at least here in the West, where society is less apt to treat the Giovanni's and the Joey's as something akin to zoo animals, and more like human beings, capable of innocence and passion, perhaps a character like David would embrace and celebrate his knowing these two, instead of reacting to an inevitable sense of revulsion he was taught to feel. As it was, an unkind separation from David might have been Joey’s good fortune, unlike Giovanni's fateful end after investing so much time together.

Since there were no words like homophobia sixty years ago and society had not come to terms with how two men might love each other, I wonder why Baldwin knew to write Giovanni’s Room. He may have lived some of David’s dishonesty; but did he also have his own “Joey” experience, where he found himself in the arms of a friend one night, a friend who then walked away and turned on him? I ponder whether he processed some pain by writing about this character David, a character that rained collateral damage on Joey, Giovanni, and Hella, and in the end had to face the consequences of what he had wrought as dawn signaled his return to Paris, and to a circle of life that began the morning he forced himself to walk out of Joey’s house in Brooklyn, away from a friend that deep inside he might run back to in an instant if the world had been a different place.