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.

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