Giovanni's Room

Desire, Denial, Destruction

Reading this book is like admiring a smashed stained glass window. A great gay novel.

Baldwin presents us with an impartial portrait of an expatriate in France grappling with his future and his identity. You learn early on how this story ends, allowing doom to permeate throughout the novel. There is some nuance presented through our narrator's eyes in how he speaks and views his fellow community members that really drive home how relevant this story still is. The poignant ending, while simple, left me with an eerie feeling that I couldn't shake long after I had finished it. In conclusion, please just read this and stop reading "A Little Life"

I read this for the 2017 Read Harder Challenge: Read a Classic by an author of color. And I was reminded, of course, that classics are classic for a reason. This is a moving book, a pleasure to read, and I will probably read it again, just like I revisit Lolita every year or so. This review from the New Yorker is also worth reading.

If you want your heart ripped out by merciless, perfect prose, look no further than this book. As the San Francisco Chronicle described it: “violent, excruciating beauty.”