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4.5 stars
Beautifully written. Baldwin, I feel, sometimes starts strong, ends strong, but gets a bit sloppy in the middle. Not so with Giovanni’s Room. Passionate without being coarse, beautiful without being sappy. Real without being crass. True and honest. Modern authors (Roxane Gay) would be doing their readers a great favor if they read the classics before picking up pens of their own.
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
Dramatised for radio and directed by leading the ...more
I've been wanting to read this book for a while, but I was also trying to keep away from it as long as I could. I knew it was depressing and tragic. Well, I'm glad I got it over with. It was indeed depressing and tragic, but it was so beautifully written, and the words will stick with me for a long time.
I read this all today, and honestly, I could have finished it in only a few hours, but I'd actually go for hours without picking my nook back up to read it. I'd read a chapter, and then wait a fe ...more
I read this all today, and honestly, I could have finished it in only a few hours, but I'd actually go for hours without picking my nook back up to read it. I'd read a chapter, and then wait a fe ...more
Bought at Gleebooks on a whim - Penguin Sale. Love James Baldwin David, a twenty-something American man living in Paris, is struggling with his sexually. He is engaged to Hella, but when his fiancée travels to Spain he begins a relationship with Italian barman Giovanni. His time with Giovanni is filled with drunken love in their small room. But a shadow lurks over them as David knows one day Hella will return and he must marry and have a family. David struggles with himself as he is unwilling to
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Apr 16, 2008
Judith
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Apr 11, 2009
Christian
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Dec 02, 2012
Laura
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Apr 13, 2015
Holly
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Jan 15, 2017
Felicia
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Feb 05, 2018
Katie
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Apr 03, 2018
Carrie
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Apr 12, 2019
Debra Harrison
marked it as to-read
