Giovanni's Room

This is a story of a young American man living abroad in Paris and coming to terms with his homosexuality in the 1950's. The narrator and protagonist, David, is drawn into an affair with a young Italian bartender working in Paris, which throws his life into turmoil. The tale is told in retrospect from a pivotal moment which we can't understand fully until we get the whole story. David as a narrator gives us a candid view of his confusion, his shame, his desire to resist a path that he knows will be condemned by others and which he fears will make him despicable. James Baldwin's writing is operatic. There is so much emotion and drama in David's situation that, although he is trying to keep his cool, he is not fooling anyone, least of all his girlfriend Hella. You will need Kleenex when you read this book.