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This short book took me nearly a month to read because it was so powerful and so gut-wrenching that I could only really manage it in small doses. It's not an easy book to review. Baldwin is an absolutely masterful writer. The book moves through time so seamlessly that you hardly notice that it's not just progressing chronologically, but the tension of the novel is maintained partly through the structure.
I never liked any of these characters. But I so strongly wanted them to find happiness and sa ...more
I never liked any of these characters. But I so strongly wanted them to find happiness and sa ...more
Important and unparalleled. Through stream of conciousness Baldwin gives the reader a portrait of a young bisexual male trying to make sense of his budding sexuality. Some reviewers accuse the main character of being spineless, etc. But consider how young he was. He was in a foreign country; his friends were despicable and manipulative; even if he had been honest with himself, this was the 50s, and to my knowledge support groups were non-existent. He was horrified and repulsed by what was happen
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I have started this one once before, and just find it boring. The language is too flowery and the characters are too extra and melodramatic. I appreciate that this is a classic from a different time and place, but it was a bear to get through.
I chose this book because it was on my list of 1001 Books to Read.
I found it hard to sustain interest. It is the story of a young man in Paris who is struggling to define himself as a man. On the periphery is his interest in a woman and his idea that a man has a wife and kids, but the majority of the book reflects his thoughts and experiences with another man, Giovanni.
It is a story of angst, which struck me more as the writer working out his own feelings than a full-blown story. Yet, in the 5 ...more
I found it hard to sustain interest. It is the story of a young man in Paris who is struggling to define himself as a man. On the periphery is his interest in a woman and his idea that a man has a wife and kids, but the majority of the book reflects his thoughts and experiences with another man, Giovanni.
It is a story of angst, which struck me more as the writer working out his own feelings than a full-blown story. Yet, in the 5 ...more
Feb 25, 2011
Vesra (When She Reads)
marked it as to-read
Oct 24, 2019
Duygu
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
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