Questions About Giovanni’s Room

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Answered Questions (14)

I'm up to chapter three and I'm struggling to keep interested. Baldwin squeezes as much information into every sentence he can with comma handles and semi-colons, and I feel he goes into a lot of detail explaining things that aren't even relevant. I'd like to get through this, so I want to know: what kept YOU reading?

Chip Howell The poetic language of the book is what kept me reading, that and this particular novel's similarities to the work of Franz Kafka (in totally unexpect…moreThe poetic language of the book is what kept me reading, that and this particular novel's similarities to the work of Franz Kafka (in totally unexpected ways, but I'd spoil the plot if I said how: nobody turns into cockroaches or anything, but there is a certain attitude that is very "Kafkaesque" and it makes you wanna strangle the protagonist,or at least slap him every three pages) I think that the hardest thing to actually deal with in terms of this book is the fact that it's old fashoned in so many ways: that's not a bad thing: but for readers more accustomed to the brevity common in more contemporary writing, the slower pacing is a HUGE turnoff and it seems to linger over things that don't seem that important or that big a deal, but given the time in which this novel was written, the very idea of a men being affectionate towards one another was unheard of and couldn't actually be written about without heavy, heavy censorship.

As for what kept me reading was the fact that I loved the language of the book more than I loved the story itself. Baldwin is a master of the mood and if you approach his prose the way you'd approach music or a poem then that might help, the relationships between words in the novel are as important as the story that the novel is telling. The point of Baldwin's writing wasn't to "get to the end of the story" but to enjoy the ride through it, and to learn something along the way. The real drawback is that the story itself proceeds from an older, outmoded, outdated concept of human sexuality and many of the moral attitudes prevailing when it was written are VERY apparent in the way the novel skips over the juicy bits, while continually pointing to them and apparently lingering over things that don't seem to have relevance to the story, but considering the amount of repression in American society at the time this was written, it would probably help to look for various clues about the story in the stuff that doesn't seem related. Also, what's hilarious is the camp wasn't camp at the time Giovanni's Room was written, that's what was expected, and indeed the characters themselves reflect those older, brutally hetero-normative attitudes in their interactions (or lack of them.)

I think this is a great novel, but its flaw is its age. Non-hetero writing no longer needs to closet itself and go in circles around a subject, and though this is a brilliant and relevant novel, it had to put itself at least partially in the closet so to speak. I'd suggest that you continue reading, but if possible, try to "relax into the language" and just go where it leads you. Be aware of the emotional connotations and implications of those apparently endless descriptions; if possible, try to get a bead on how sensual and sensuous those sentences are; but ultimately, if that kind of language isn't your thing, then just be aware that you're reading an artifact of another age, when life itself was lived at a different pace. That might not help you to get through it, but it'll hopefully put some of the "dullness" into perspective.(less)

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Have you had a similar experience in Paris? If yes or no, do you think this is an experience that is natural and common in maturing adults? Is there value in having an experience like the one in Giovanni's Room? Does such an experience need to end so negatively?

Greg Lots of questions David. 1) No, I have not had a romantic experience in Paris, although I've visited Paris. 2) The longer I live, it's my personal obs…moreLots of questions David. 1) No, I have not had a romantic experience in Paris, although I've visited Paris. 2) The longer I live, it's my personal observation that far more people are between the "100% straight" and "100% gay" labels than we've ever suspected (but I don't like labels), so (3) this kind of experience would never surprise me, and if that's what consenting adults want, then there is value. 4) I believe most of these experiences end neither positively or negatively, they just end, like a meal or a movie. (less)

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so far so good , not a big fan of the misogyny in it though ?

Gabriel I loved this book so much reading in 2013, I just read it for the second time and the misogyny bothered me SO MUCH. I don't know if I'll lower my rati…moreI loved this book so much reading in 2013, I just read it for the second time and the misogyny bothered me SO MUCH. I don't know if I'll lower my ratings because of it, it is an very old book, but that it made it harder to read again, it did (less)

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I'd assumed that the boys were POC, but I keep finding articles on 'Baldwin's ability to write white protagonists in "Giovanni's Room."' My question is: did I miss the part where Baldwin says they're white, or is it fine to continue assuming they're POC?

Erika I'm not sure if it is made that explicit in the book, but Baldwin said in his interviews that the characters were white. This isn't because it would b…moreI'm not sure if it is made that explicit in the book, but Baldwin said in his interviews that the characters were white. This isn't because it would be "unrealistic" in that time for them not to be white, POC have been around for longer than we often like to acknowledge, but because Baldwin didn't want to tackle both the subject of homosexuality and race in the same book, as he found that it would make the book much more complex. The intersectionality of race and sexuality is something that transcends both categories and thus would be posing other questions than the ones in this book. He does attempt it in 'Go tell in on the Mountain', a more autobiographical book, and I recommend it warmly.(less)

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does this book have explicit sex scenes? if so, how graphic are these?

Ascolta At the 1/3 mark, there are no explicit sex scenes, but a bunch of direct references to sexual encounters. Mostly so far, Baldwin has made liberal use …moreAt the 1/3 mark, there are no explicit sex scenes, but a bunch of direct references to sexual encounters. Mostly so far, Baldwin has made liberal use of the literary 'fade-out.'(less)

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Unanswered Questions (1)

I'm 15 years old (turning 16 this year!), is this book suitable enough for me to read?

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