REVIEW: Giovanni's Room (James Baldwin)

Book: Giovanni's Room

Author: James Baldwin

My rating: 4/5.

Premise: David, a young American in 1950s Paris is waiting for his fiancée to return from vacation in Spain. But when he meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman, the two men are drawn into an intense affair. After three months, David's fiancée returns, and, denying his true nature, David rejects Giovanni for a 'safe' future as a married man. His decision eventually brings tragedy.

Wow. This book was gut-wrenchingly tragic. The story follows David, who is struggling to accept his sexuality. At first, I didn't like him as he was a bit of a dick to everyone. But then you gradually understand his inner turmoil, how he sees this queerness in him as shameful. As the book goes on, you start to feel this overwhelming sense of claustrophobia for David - he feels like he has to be heterosexual if he wants to go back to America, but he also starts to feel trapped in his relationship with Giovanni. By the end of the book, I felt immensely sorry for David and just wanted him to be happy with whatever path he chose. I loved the setting of the book - the LGBT scene of 1950s Paris -but the vibrancy and freedom still had sad undertones. We see various gay characters feeling stuck, whether that be because they're old and feel they've missed their chance at love, or they're young and feel dirty for allowing their bodies to be "misused". I think overall it's this sense of shame that makes this story so tragic. Pretty much all the characters feel shame from their sexual exploits, even the two straight women who feel they've been used by men. A gorgeous yet heartbreaking read.