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Giovanni's Room
Giovanni's Room | James A Baldwin
Set in the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality. With a sharp, probing imagination, James Baldwin's now-classic narrative delves into the mystery of loving and creates a moving, highly controversial story of death and passion that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart.
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review
Kitta
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Excellent, but I kept falling asleep while reading the beginning (still sick). I can‘t tell if I was bored or the start was slow or if I was just still too sick to read. Worth persevering for the ending.

An LGBTQIA classic published in 1956, about an American living in Paris coming to terms with his homosexuality. His girlfriend Hella is on an extended vacation to Spain, when he meets Giovanni.

#LGBTQBookBingo2024
#10beforetheend

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AbstractMonica
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

This was my first James Baldwin book, and I haven‘t been able to stop thinking about it. It was complex and poignant. I hung on to every word.

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notreallyelaine
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin

People can't, unhappily, invent their mooring posts, their lovers and their friends, anymore than they can invent their parents. Life gives these and also takes them away and the great difficulty is to say Yes to life.

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Amor4Libros
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

First Baldwin and already one of my favorite reads this year!

The way Baldwin weaves the story between David and Giovanni is exquisite.

I read this on Kindle, borrowed from the library and I definitely need a physical copy for a reread and annotation.

So glad I have the rest of his backlist to enjoy.

Loved this!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Amor4Libros
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Current read…Library holds coming in strong in the past few days and I‘m not mad about it!

32 likes1 stack add
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gabriellegabby
Giovanni | James Baldwin
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🌈 This June, our tribute goes to extraordinary LGBTQ+ authors breaking boundaries in literature.

Find out why their stories are essential for broadening perspectives and their representation is key to a more inclusive and empathetic world. 🤗

✨ Discover our take on the profound impact of queer voices in books and beyond: https://blog.getbookly.com/10-lgbtq-authors-to-celebrate-this-pride-month/

#lgbtq #lgbtqauthors #lgbtqbooks #readmore

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IndoorDame
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

Sometimes you start a book knowing you‘re going end it thinking - I don‘t know how I waited so long to read this! And that was totally this book, BUT it also completely took me by surprise. I‘ve can‘t remember the last time I read something where you could pull out every third line as a standalone quote. (Maybe the last time I read Baldwin?) I kept thinking I‘m so glad I‘m not writing an essay on this, or my copy would look insane. #doublespin

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 5mo
Kitta This has been on my tbr for so long! 5mo
54 likes2 comments
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Jari-chan
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

Wow, this book hit me real hard. I barely know what to say about it. It runs so deep, I can't really find the words to describe it. Some scene made me cringe, so did some words or dialogues. But in this story it's more than clear that those are the words and thoughts of the characters, not necessarily the author's, which made them even more real to me.
This book left me with a heavy feeling on my heart and soul.

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IndoorDame
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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#weirdwords #weirdwordwednesdays @CBee

I love this word! The closest equivalent we have in American English is “bum a smoke” which sounds offensive, and really only works for cigarettes.

RaeLovesToRead I didn't realise Americans didn't use cadge!! 😄 5mo
IndoorDame @RaeLovesToRead it‘s certainly new to me. I guess if we‘re talking about something innocuous like food sometimes we just say can I steal one of those, or a really awkward construction like got a whatever for me… 🤷🏻‍♀️ 5mo
dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 5mo
IndoorDame @dabbe 💜💜💜 5mo
35 likes4 comments
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IndoorDame
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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I stand at the window of this great house in the south of France as night falls, the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life. #firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl

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TheIntrovertedDodoBird
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Giovanni‘s Room by James Baldwin!

I've been pining for this book to be adapted into a movie ever since I first read it. The knowledge of a secret screenplay squirrelled away somewhere in a London flat penned by Baldwin himself only made the notion more desirous.

Forever holding out hope!

eskoch28 I LOVED this book! 7mo
TheIntrovertedDodoBird @eskoch28 It's absolutely INCREDIBLE! Baldwin is exquisite in every way. 7mo
Gabbymags123 Colleen Hoover … Kristen Hanna they r amazing authors and of coarse Freida McFadden 7mo
TheIntrovertedDodoBird @Gabbymags123 I've heard great things about Freida McFadden. Chuck Palahnuick, Alan Hollinghurst, and Neil Gaiman are a few of my favourites. 6mo
Gabbymags123 Oh ty sorry late just discovered this area 5mo
39 likes5 comments
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anushareflects
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

A bold story to have been written in the mid 1950s. It‘s a tale of homosexual love that, pressed by the times in which it plays out and ideas of masculinity that are held at the core, lead to the destruction of two lives with significant consequences. I wanted to love it more but sadly I didn‘t, but I think it‘s a courageous work that deserves to be widely read. So far though, I prefer Baldwin‘s non fiction work more.

CarolynM Great review. 8mo
anushareflects Thank you, that‘s so kind of you! @CarolynM 8mo
TalesandTexts I feel the same way about this book. 8mo
12 likes3 comments
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jenniferw88
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Pickpick
47 likes5 comments
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LatrelWhite
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Early Sunday morning in Giovanni‘s Room❤️

21 likes1 stack add
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LatrelWhite
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Cold night planted on the couch…hubby‘s feet near fireplace and me ➡️ reading!😊

BookmarkTavern Looks cozy! 10mo
19 likes1 comment
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jenniferw88
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#roll100 @PuddleJumper

Luckily, these are all quite short!

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 12mo
56 likes1 stack add1 comment
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IndoorDame
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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I really need to buy myself a copy of this #novella It seems like every time I decide to borrow it there‘s a 6 month wait time, and then life distracts me, so I actually have yet to read this masterpiece… #HumbleHarvest @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Eggs Baldwin was one-of-a-kind ❤️ 12mo
Cuilin Amazing read 🩷 12mo
65 likes2 comments
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alexa_d
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Gay flirting disguised as incisive commentary on French society disguised as a dick joke. GodDAMN, James Baldwin.

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alexa_d
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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God, Baldwin could write. He could especially write gay flirting disguised as incisive criticism of American society disguised as gay flirting.

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susaanestraada
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
Pickpick

gorgeous yet so shattering. not in the sense you‘re life is changed completely and you‘re sobbing shattering but shattering like i just became david and left the one i loved

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susaanestraada
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin

“…love him and let him love you. do you think anything else under heaven really matters?”

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GidgetsTreasures75
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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8-26-23: Just got back from roaming around my city with my daughter visiting all the participating bookstores in the first annual Philly Book Crawl including the country‘s oldest LGBTQ bookstore, Giovannis Room. It was a magical day! Love having reasons to buy books! 📖📚💖

charl08 Love the graphic. 1y
5feet.of.fury That sounds fun! 1y
14 likes2 comments
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ChaoticMissAdventures
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

#2023 reread

5⭐

Baldwin is a marvel.

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ChaoticMissAdventures
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks #Booknotes

Giovanni's Room needs French music of course, I have been in love with Barbara Pravi since I saw her in the 2021 Eurovision. Her Le jour se lève song fits the feel of this Baldwin read, it is all about kissing, and dreaming of kissing, and has a bit of a melancholic piano feel.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks So beautiful 🎵❤️ 1y
25 likes1 comment
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ChaoticMissAdventures
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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"He smiled, 'Why, you will go home and then you will find that home is not home anymore. Then you will really be in trouble. As long as you stay here, you can always think: One day I will go home' He played with my thumb and grinned.
'Beautiful logic, ' I said. ' You mean I have a home to go to as long as I don't go there?'"

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ChaoticMissAdventures
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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#FirstlineFriday @ShyBookOwl

“I stand at the window of this great house in the south of France as night falls, the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life.“

😍 😍 😍 😍

Cuilin Just read this. 💕 1y
ChaoticMissAdventures @Cuilin I love reading it during pride! It is such a perfect little book. 1y
Cuilin I read a few for Pride too including Giovanni‘s Room. Lie with me by Besson was amazing and 1y
ChaoticMissAdventures @Cuilin I have Besson's In The Absence of Men which I haven't gotten to yet, it will be my first of his which I am excited for, I have been really into French writing lately, I really want to read Swimming In The Dark too I hear great things! 1y
Cuilin @ChaoticMissAdventures I‘m definitely going to add more Besson to my TBR 1y
27 likes5 comments
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SamAnne
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Really wonderful feature in NYT with several queer writers, including Roxanne Gay, reflecting on, commenting on, the most influential queer writers of the last several decades. Some writers I had not heard of. And some phenomenal portraits and photographs included in this feature. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/t-magazine/queer-postwar-books-plays-poems.ht...

CatMS Wonderful article, dont know how I missed it as a NYT subscriber. 1y
SamAnne @CatMS I think the NYT has been doing stellar literary coverage. No other newspaper comes close. Have particularly appreciated recent features on Cormac McCarthy. I just follow NYT electronically (sigh...I used to get the Sunday edition delivered in Spokane WA, but those days are done) and it's easy to miss articles. 1y
Reggie Oh I read this. I liked the poem where the author was describing who they would vote for. Still seems relevant. 1y
55 likes3 comments
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re-be
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

Amazing. Reminder that we can't run from ourselves/can't escape our minds

Unfortunately, my copy got ruined in the rain.

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Lcsmcat
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

I finished this on the treadmill this morning and I will be thinking about Giovanni and David for a long time. It‘s heartbreaking and yet beautiful. But I wish I had read it instead of listening. This narrator couldn‘t speak French and butchered the name Guillaume and even the word “monsieur!” But the book made it worth putting up with that.

batsy Beautiful and brilliant. I loved it, too. Though so sad... 2y
AvidReader25 It was such a heartbreaking book. I loved his “If Beale Street Could Talk” too! @batsy 2y
Lcsmcat @AvidReader25 That‘s one I want to read too. 2y
SamAnne I‘ve been trying to get to this one for awhile. 2y
batsy @AvidReader25 I need to read more of him and will try to get to Beale Street next. 2y
47 likes5 comments
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ChaoticMissAdventures
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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#BlackHistoryMonth Recommendations Day 19 Fiction
Baldwin. Baldwin! I am constantly in awe of Baldwin. His intelligence and ability to relate it into gorgeous earth shattering stories is unmatched. This atmospheric novel set in Paris is a masterpiece. But it also is a slim accessible read. Full of love and sorrow, it is truly worth all the praise.

SamAnne I‘m reading it this month. One of his I‘ve not yet read! 2y
batsy A difficult but brilliant book! 2y
27 likes2 comments
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Bookbuyingaddict
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Book bingo reads 2 down 7 to go for two lines 😂cancel the house 🏡 work call in sick to work and just read ! 🤓😂 happy Monday #bookspinbingo #doublespin #februaryreads

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psalva
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

This was incredible. Baldwin conveys so much about humanity, shame, pain, love, and hatred in this story. The writing is open, honest, raw, and so very human. I am in awe. Definitely a new favorite. I cannot wait to discuss this at my next LGBT+ book club meeting at the end of this month!
#lgtbq #queerlit

Rissreads Fantastic review! 2y
psalva @Rissreads Thank you! 2y
19 likes2 comments
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psalva
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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I recently joined a newly formed LGBTQ+ book club in South Carolina and today we found out this is the first book we‘re reading. It‘s my first ever in-person book club and I am hopeful that it will be a good experience.

#bookclub #lgbtq #southcarolina

Reggie Ohhhh, I‘m so excited for you! 2y
psalva @Reggie Thank you! 2y
24 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Sydneypaige
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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My new favorite Baldwin book and probably going to stay in my top 10 reads of the year. This is about a man struggling with his sexuality and relationships as an American in Paris. It‘s heartbreaking and beautiful.

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gossamerchild
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

Again, possibly in my top 5 favorites of 2022. This book blew me away. Also, I need to come up with new superlatives. Anyway, I only regret not reading this sooner.

#12Booksof2022 @Andrew65

Andrew65 Looks a good choice. 2y
38 likes1 stack add1 comment
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TheIntrovertedDodoBird
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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2022 has been a rather marvellous book year for me!

I've discovered new favourite authors. Unearthed book series that have become lifelong obsessions. And one cannot forget the stand-alones that have found a permanent home in my heart.

⬆️ These were my absolute favourites ⬆️

1: Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin.
2: Rainbow Milk by Paul Mendez.
3: Into This River I Drown by TJ Klune.

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Cazxxx
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

Have been reading this as a buddy read with my son and wow it was wonderful. Such beautiful prose, brilliantly written characters and a hard hitting story.
This one is definitely going into my all time favourites list
5 ⭐️

CarolynM It‘s really good, isn‘t it? I‘d love to know what your son thought of it. 2y
Cazxxx @CarolynM It was excellent. He hasn‘t quite finished as he‘s having eye problems but so far he likes it and has annotated a lot! 2y
45 likes2 comments
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Ididsoidid
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

A short story brilliantly narrated. David‘s efforts to escape both the morality of his American upbringing and his own contradictory desires play out in the small and suffocating atmosphere of Giovanni‘s room. 9/10

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Graywacke
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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#Alphabetgame #LetterG @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Baldwin again. He had many sides - angry and brilliant and provocative - or here, beautiful and elegant. A favorite all-time for me.

Other G‘s: Goodbye to a River by John Graves (for rare tx sanity). The slow and thoughtful Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. And two audio surprises: The Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America-Stacy Schiff & The Greater Journey-David McCullough

vivastory When you said that you were using Baldwin again for G, I was thinking Go Tell it on the Mountain! Giovanni's Room is the next one I plan on reading by him. He is def an all-time favorite of mine. He's written one of my fave novels, stories & essays. Just brilliant. 2y
Graywacke @vivastory Go Tell It is rough stuff. I was all black and blue after that. 🙂 I adore him. I made him a reading theme one year, and it was a such a good rewarding decision. I agree. (I read a collection of short stories and especially loved Sonnie‘s Blues) 2y
vivastory I have read a handful of his various works, but he is def a writer who I plan on reading his entire output eventually. I have thought of doing the author dedicated reading years before, but I need a bit of a break between authors. 'Sonny's Blues is the story I was thinking of. Just a flawless, heartbreaking story. Feels both heavy & light at the same time. 2y
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Graywacke @vivastory i lost my response 🙁 I was writing to tell you how ridiculously pleased I am to share some affection for Sonnie‘s Blue. It‘s a gem, and not so well known as his other stuff. I also gave you my whole annual author theme story, but i‘ll spare you that now. 🙂 2y
batsy Excellent pick. Even the anger and provocation comes through here. So much to reckon with in this book. 2y
Graywacke @vivastory I couldn‘t get through all Baldwin‘s work in a year. I got through the classic stuff in that year. I have, next to me right now, his novel Just Above My Head, waiting. I think his best writing was early. As he became more publicly active, it seems he was a bit too scatter brained to match his earlier stuff. I loved Tell Me How Long the Train‘s Been Gone. But apparently he never edited it. Submitted the draft and dropped it completely. 2y
Graywacke @vivastory ps - if you have a lot of time, @AllDebooks sent me this essay on Baldwon by Toibin. It‘s terrific, but really long: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v23/n18/colm-toibin/the-last-witness 2y
Graywacke @batsy true. Those are deeply interwoven, and it becomes a foreground. And yeah, a lot to reckon with. 2y
vivastory Thanks for the link! I bookmarked it & will def read it later. Toibin's thoughts on Baldwin will def be worthwhile. I had never heard of Just Above My Head, which is strange bc I see now that it appears to be one of his longest novels. I have heard great things about Tell Me How Long etc, but that's one I still need to read. I had a similar feeling about Another Country being unpolished, which I think actually helped accentuate the raw emotions 2y
vivastory (cont) In it. Out of the novels of his that I have read so far, my fave has been If Beale St Could Talk. Such a compact, yet multifaceted work full of dramatic moments & memorable characters! 2y
Graywacke @vivastory I liked Beale Street. Super relevant now. I thought he dialed himself down, and used plot construction to make it work. Still need to get to that movie. Another Country is another tough one…powerful and uncomfortable. You have read a lot of his stuff! 2y
AllDebooks I loved Giovanni's Room, Go Tell it will be my next of his 2y
Graywacke @AllDebooks it‘s intense! 2y
AllDebooks @Graywacke I have no doubt. Also need to read Gilead 2y
45 likes1 stack add14 comments
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Cazxxx
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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📚 A few of my recent purchases 📚

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AllDebooks
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin

Finally got around to reading James Baldwin. Really looking forward to exploring more of his writing.

Fascinating essay by Colm Toíbín, fyi @Graywacke
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v23/n18/colm-toibin/the-last-witness
https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2021/01/where-to-start-with-james-baldwin

Graywacke Yay! I adored this novel. I also love James Baldwin in general. 2y
AllDebooks @Graywacke I found it so moving and profound. 2y
AllDebooks @Graywacke I'm reading the tagged essay collection, in which the author writes the most wonderful, insightful letters to JB. 2y
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Graywacke I‘m not familiar with this. Noting! Thanks. 2y
AllDebooks @Graywacke you're welcome, thought it might be of interest to you 2y
Graywacke I noticed your second link. Tóibín‘s article is terrific and intense. And incomplete. He sort of just stops. What amazed me is I kept waiting for him to discuss The Fire Next Time - Baldwin‘s most important work, and his most politically intense. It‘s not mentioned once in the article. (Also I was mixed in Another Country, but loved Tell Me How Long the Train‘s Been Gone. Both are long wandering messy novels, but I found Train very human.) 2y
17 likes6 comments
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Nutmegnc
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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With Giovanni‘s Room, I‘ve completed the 2021 #lgbtqbookbingo (begun this year after I finished the 2022 board…) @Kenyazero

Kenyazero Dang! Excellent work! 2y
Nutmegnc @Kenyazero now I need to add ratings to my boards! 2y
Kenyazero @Nutmegnc oh! That‘s a super cool idea! 2y
BkClubCare 👏 2y
49 likes1 stack add4 comments
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DavidDiamond
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

For Pride month I picked this classic which I had never read. A moving examination of repression, internalized homophobia and the resulting consequences in 1950‘s Paris.

vivastory I think this will be my next Baldwin. What a master. 2y
DavidDiamond @vivastory It‘s a quick read…it‘s also my first Baldwin! 2y
batsy I read it recently and it was also my first Baldwin. What a book. 2y
CarolynM My first (and so far only) Baldwin too. I won‘t forget it in a hurry. 2y
41 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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timefornewtoys
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
Pickpick

Another masterpiece. Just devastating

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batsy
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

Everything I said about Greek tragedies giving me nightmares applies to this: it was my "bedtime book" & it was the stupidest choice; it wrecked my sleep. Though a slim novel, I dragged it out over 10 days. It's a hard book not because of its prose, which is beautiful, or its plot, which is straightforward, but because of what it contains: shame, rage, denial, anguish; the stuff that is the bedrock of toxic masculinity & (internalised) homophobia.

batsy What more can I say? I found myself yearning for redemption for David & a "happy ending" for him & Giovanni, which of course, will never come. Why do you destroy me, James Baldwin ? 3y
batsy I feel like this photograph really captures the mood of the novel. It's from a series of photos by John Edmonds to illustrate this excellent essay by Hilton Als https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/t-magazine/james-baldwin-giovannis-room.html 3y
CarolynM Fabulous review. Not a good choice for bedtime reading! 3y
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Cathythoughts Brilliant review & picture 👍🏻 3y
Nutmegnc Great article and great review. Thanks for sharing! 3y
erzascarletbookgasm Aargh I can‘t read the article! Excellent review and great pic! (edited) 3y
Tamra Terrific review! 😊 3y
batsy @erzascarletbookgasm I know! I try to read articles on my laptop where the browser's Readability extension can sometimes bypass the paywall 🙊 3y
andrew61 Great review, I must reread this as I didn't get on with it the first time but know it was me not the book. 3y
vivastory Baldwin is def an author who I plan on eventually reading everything he wrote. As always a fantastic review 👏 Books that gave me nightmares should be a reoccurring feature 3y
nathandrake1997 Exquisite review ❤️❤️❤️❤️ One of my all-time favourite books ❤️❤️❤️❤️ 3y
batsy @andrew61 Thank you; I can understand not getting on with it because it is a bit of a bleak one. 3y
batsy @vivastory Thank you! Lol yes the nightmare-inducing ones stick with me the longest, evidently 😆 3y
batsy @nathandrake1997 Thank you!! 💜 I'm really glad I finally read it but whew it really takes something out of you 💔 3y
Centique I have this on my TBR but I‘ve been too afraid of it! I will, I must, I can ….. just not today. 😬 3y
batsy @Centique Oof, I know! That's exactly why I kept putting it off for so long 😆 3y
Graywacke My favorite Baldwin. Glad you enjoyed this. 3y
batsy @Graywacke Amazing book, but Baldwin never lets the reader off easy. I want to read his other works but I also need to be prepared, in a way! 3y
Graywacke @batsy no he doesn‘t. I imagine letting a reader go unchallenged would be counter to his purpose. 🙂 3y
Graywacke He was my 2019 theme. But I couldn‘t get to everything he wrote. 3y
batsy @Graywacke Oh yes, of course. It's the same ethics of holding the reader accountable that informs some of his nonfiction writing that I've read. (I like that you have a yearly theme. I'm so undisciplined as a reader. But maybe this could be my resolution for next year 😅) 3y
Graywacke @batsy The one reading through all the classical Greek plays is undisciplined? 🙂 So if you chose an author for next year, who would you chose? 3y
batsy @Graywacke Ha 😆 That's a good question, btw... Haven't thought about it but I've been wanting to go through all of Muriel Spark, or Anita Brookner, or Barbara Pym. 3y
Graywacke @batsy Two authors i need to read and one I need to read more of (Spark)! 3y
101 likes2 stack adds25 comments
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LindaLappin
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Sorry to break the rules. I neglected day9 #Pub of #SavvySettings because I couldn't think of anything -- then it hit me- Giovanni's Room - the book that established Baldwin's reputation as a great American writer overnight! While his classic Go Tell It On the Mountain. is another tough reckoning with #Church, Day21 Brilliant stylist. Powerful emotions. @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Eggs Agreed! Perfect 👍🏼 3y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks There are no rules! ❤️📚 3y
14 likes2 comments
review
TheIntrovertedDodoBird
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick

A tragic love story to rival Shakespeare's Romeo and Juilet.
James Baldwin has composed yet another masterpiece.
When David, a rudderless American, collides with Giovanni, a grief-stricken, vulnerable bartender hiding behind a vivacious bravado, they embark on a journey of love and lust and hate, until one really appreciates how closely all of those impassioned feelings are related.
The prose is a breath-taking feat of vehemence and observation.

BookwormAHN Welcome to Litsy 😺 3y
TheIntrovertedDodoBird @BookwormAHN Aww, thank you 😘 X 3y
Nute Welcome to Litsy! It‘s a warm and friendly community. I know that you will enjoy yourself here. I‘m looking forward to getting to know you!🙂
Check out #LitsyEvents for a varied listing of fun-related happenings within this neighborhood of fellow readers.🤗
3y
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PaperbackPirate Welcome to Litsy! Go to @LitsyWelcomeWagon for some helpful links. 3y
TheIntrovertedDodoBird @Nute Aww, thank you so much for the warm welcome 😘. I think I've found my people here. Thank you for the link too. Very helpful 🥰 Xx 3y
TheIntrovertedDodoBird @PaperbackPirate Aww, thank you so much too for the lovely welcome 😘. And the link too. I really appreciate it 🥰 Xx 3y
19 likes6 comments
review
naeyma
Mehso-so

This isn‘t a book about a man confused of his sexuality, this is a book about how self-hatred and self-loathing can destroy the lives of people around you. This is about a man who is selfish and who does not take accountability for his actions or have any consideration for the feelings of people around him.

A lot of people pity for David but he is the enemy.

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Mariasimon
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Mehso-so

Set in 1950s Paris, a gay man struggles with his sexuality while falling in love with another man. Even though he is engaged, David, while his fiancée is away on a trip meets a bartender, Giovanni, and continues their affair in Giovannis room until his fiancée returns. This book deals heavily with the mental struggle of accepting yourself as queer, especially at a time when gender roles were so heavily enforced.

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BkClubCare
Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin
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Pickpick
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
xicanti Guess who just received THE BEST CHRISTMAS CARD EVER, almost two months after it was mailed! (Boo, postal system.) Thank you! I shall treasure this gem forever. 3y
BkClubCare @xicanti - BOO! Probably on the US side 😂 Happy New Year 3y
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