Luís's Reviews > Giovanni’s Room

David loves men and hates himself for it. Whenever he succumbs to a young man's charms, he trembles with fear at the prospect of being discovered. He thinks of the lewd jokes and offensive words that accompany people of his kind and fears playing them. To be reassured, the young American leaves for Paris. He can frequent gay circles in relative tranquility, sheltered from the crowd and familiar eyes.
However, this tranquillity does not push him to assert himself, not even in these closed circles. On the contrary, he proclaims to whoever wants to hear him that he loves women, and the few adventures don't count. Besides, he has a girlfriend and just proposed to her, if that is not proof! She left for Spain alone to take stock before answering did not seem to disturb him too much.
During this absence, David meets Giovanni, an immigrant from Italy. Giovanni is the opposite of her new lover: he gives himself 100% to this new relationship without fear of looks or prejudice. In Giovanni's room, cut off from the outside world, a small bubble of pure love can exist with curtains still drawn. Outside, David cannot bear the brunt of this relationship. "You want to leave Giovanni because, with him, you stink." You want to despise Giovanni because he's not afraid of the stench of love. "
The atmosphere of this book is very oppressive: in the description of the gay environment of the post-war period and the leaden cover of moral condemnation to endure, self-hatred is omnipresent, as is hatred of the other, which has helped bring you down once again. Added to this is a prostitutional relationship that does not contribute to softening resentment because only the rich, or the downgraded, can be immune from prosecution.
We also pity Giovanni, for whom love seems so easy and the weight of the gaze of others so light. Until the end, he will believe in the victory of feelings over the obligation of conformity, ready even to sacrifice a large part of her lover's life for the company of decent people. For that, David would have to stop running. And the game is far from over.