Timeless, heartbreaking, and so cinematic. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to delve into Baldwin’s work. Truly do not have any negatives to say about this novel, and I’m sure it will stick with me for a long time.

deeply sad story of internalized homophobia that doubles as a critique of white america

read in my intro to queer studies class

Ok I understand the hype. This book is beautifully written. I loved the French language interwoven through out, it really transplanted me into David’s world. Despite the main character, David, being so morally inept it was highly enjoyable in fact his  inner conflict is what made it so interesting! 

I know that we can’t really judge a book written 70 years ago by today’s social rules. However the writing of the dialogue of the only talking female character, Hella, is painfully sexist. I  wonder whether this is a reflection of the sentiment of some American women at the time or whether the author, as a gay American man of the 1950s, just had poor insight into the female perspective. I would have given the book a higher rating if I hadn’t been so thrown by what Hella says. 

There is a lot of French words used throughout the book and while none of it needs to be understood to follow the story it would make it frustrating to read for people that don’t know French. 

Far sadder than I was expecting.  If this book is any indication, the level of self-loathing experienced by queer men at this time must have been unimaginable. 
Reading this was like bobbing out on the open ocean, life vest on, but seeing nothing but wave after wave of misery and devastation coming your way

Automatic negative points for being pro-Paris / pro-France and using the French language. AUTOMATIC !!!!!! I can't help my dislike, nay I say hatred of those baguettes!

Negative points also for the main characters, all characters being white. I understand that the story couldn't be told without them being white. It's just hard for me to relate to white stories. I don't understand them. Usually when I read them I think "Okay but you don't have real problems. Why are you complaining?" Which is only halfway a joke. 55% a jape.

I did relate to the main character however. For future me reading this, you just broke up with your first girlfriend. You only related in some, a few ways, not completely, but it was noticeable.

Despite my criticisms the writing was lovely. It feels like thee queer/gay book that mothered or grandmothered queer books. I loved the brief analysis into gender and heteronorms. It came out of nowhere but it really stood out. Every thing you feel for the first time has already been felt by the rest of humanity a billion times over. I also love when classics can still be relatable.

Giovanni's Room follows the story of David, an American man who, after being left by his girlfriend in France, starts a relationship with another man, named Giovanni.

This book touches on many topics. The three main issues it covers is internalized homophobia/biphobia, what it means to be a 'real man',  and confinement. 

The book takes place in the 1950s, when attitudes of gay people were shifting—more for the worse than better. These strong homophobic attitudes further lead David into self-hatred.  

David's earliest experience of same-sex attraction happened with a friend of his named Joey. They

slept together

one night, and afterwards, David became extremely cold to him and began to

bully him

.  On top of this, David, who is raised by his single father, constantly expresses his want for David to be a real man. What being a 'real man' means is something that David struggles greatly with throughout the book. 

In my perspective, David felt that his attraction to Joey was just a one-time thing, but, after meeting Giovanni and almost instantly being attracted to him, he feels ashamed of himself. 

His same-sex attraction makes him feel emasculated, which he displays by mocking other gay/bi individuals that he encounters. He refers to the gay and bi men by the word 'fairy', which is another way of saying 'sissy' or the f-slur. He feels as though he is different from them, despite also being same-sex attracted. This attempt to separate himself from the other men shows how insecure he is about being who he is. 

He also pushes himself away from Giovanni because of his shame. While Hella, David's girlfriend, is off finding herself in another country, David and Giovanni spend a lot of time together. But the moment Hella returns,

David leaves Giovanni in the middle of the night and has him worried about him for over three days.

David runs from himself both literally and figuratively.

On top of all of this, growing up, David's father constantly expressed his want for David to be a 
'real man'. David's father never elaborates on what he meant by that, but through his letters to David, it can be assumed that he wanted David to find a woman, get married, and have children. David tries his best to achieve this expectation by trying to make things work with Hella. 

One last topic that is covered in Giovanni's Room is confinement. Giovanni has big windows with no curtains, so anyone is able to see inside. Because of this, he keeps the lights off in the room and him and David stay low to the ground. This is not just for the need of regular, personal privacy, but also to conceal the homosexual acts that take place in the room. They both know that if anyone were to find them, they would no longer be safe. 

All in all, I enjoyed this book. It showed a deeper side to homosexuality and how those who happen to experience same-sex attraction struggle with acceptance, but inward and outward.

 It's hard to find the language to describe the devastation that this book wrought upon me. Achingly beautiful. I miss James Baldwin.