Friday, March 27, 2020
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Giovanni's Room
Giovanni's Room
by James Baldwin
read: 2020
Guardian 1000 Novels
During February, Black History Month, I usually try to read books by African-American authors. An interesting element of Giovanni's Room is that virtually all the characters are white, with Baldwin exploring sexuality, rather than race. Protagonist David struggles with his feelings for the titular Giovanni. Ultimately, it's debatable whether David is gay or bi-sexual, but the larger issue is that he's afraid of his feelings and denies himself happiness. He can't be happy with Giovanni, nor with his fiancee Hella.
Thursday, March 5, 2020
The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules
by John Irving
read: circa 2002
The Cider House Rules was the first Irving novel I read. There's a lot I remember—child abuse, a spouse lost at war, infidelity (and keeping markers of it), "Good night you princes of Maine, you kings of New England," abortion, ether—but mostly I remember hair.
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