Rating: 
Summary: Painfully Beautiful
Review: James Baldwin's stories are more like poetry, describing painful circumstances as dreamy metaphors. I felt myself pulled away from the story a few times to ponder what Baldwin is expressing through this story, for example he writes something about not choosing your friends or who you love, just as you don't get to choose your parents. He forces you to stand in the shoes of each character, feeling as though you were naked, because the message, for me at least, is clear. If people would allow themselves to feel total honesty with themselves, then perhaps the way they are choosing to live their lives would be completely, way over on the opposite end of the spectrum then what is actually real. No sexual orrient, race, religion. Just looking inside yourself and saying "yes". And if you think I'm just getting to romantic over a story, still read this book. James Baldwin is a master at story telling. Even if you don't feel as I do about this book, I'm sure you'll feel something. It is, for me, one of those stories you thin kabout long after you've read it.
Rating:
Summary: Why Stop At 5 * When He Can Receive All The * In The Galaxy
Review: As an avid reader, I felt as though I had rediscovered the joy reading can bring after being exposed to Giovanni's Room. The book was not simply written for homosexuals. It was written to open our eyes to the possibility that perhaps, like David, we are repressing our feelings out of fear. I walked around in a daze after completing it. Baldwin had a truly amazing gift to be able to convey those emotions through his characters. For anyone who has not yet picked up this book, I strongly recommend, better yet, I strongly advise you to let yourself fall into Baldwin's world.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece about love and self-acceptance
Review: David is an American living in 1950's Paris, trying to flee from bad memories of home with his father. He has a finacée Hella, who has just left for Spain to make sure that she is ready to wed David. While she's away, David allows his urges to take him to one a gay bar, where he meets Giovanni, a young, Italian bartender. They strike up a friendship, and for financial reasons, David moves into Giovanni's tiny room.Throughout the novel, David is conflicted with his feelings of love, loathing and guilt for Giovanni and for his own homosexuality. He loves Hella, too, but desparately wants to find out if her love is what he truly desires, almost willing her to save him. Author James Baldwin uses a very flowing style to permeate his novel with these emotions, allowing the reader to both sympathize and distrust Giovanni and David. One is strong and sure of himself; the other is fighting a battle in his head over what he feels. This creates one of the better novels dealing with someone coming to terms with his or her own sexuality.
Rating:
Summary: A true masterpiece
Review: David is an American living in 1950's Paris. He has a finacée Hella, who recently left for Spain to make sure that she is ready to marry him. While she's away, David meets Giovanni, a young Italian bartender. They strike up a friendship, and for financial reasons, he moves into Giovanni's tiny room. But, the friendship grows into something more, and David must decide which life he wants to lead. Throughout the novel, David is conflicted with his feelings of love, loathing and guilt for Giovanni. He loves Hella, too, but desparately wants to find out if her love is what he truly desires, almost willing her to save him. Author James Baldwin uses a very flowing style to permeate his novel with these emotions, allowing the reader to both sympathize and distrust Giovanni and David. One is strong and sure of himself; the other is fighting a battle in his head over what he feels. "Giovanni's Room" is one of the great novel dealing with someone coming to terms with his or her own sexuality and all the emotions associated with it. A truly fine novel.
Rating:
Summary: a compact, moving story ... a great read
Review: Giovanni's Room is my first taste of James Baldwin's brilliance. In less than 200 pages it transports the reader to 1950s France and tells of a complex love triangle between two men, one Italian and one American, and an American woman (who is 'off stage' most of the time touring Spain). What elevates Giovanni's Room beyond the realm of a soap opera or trite gay fiction are its brilliant prose (Mr Baldwin seemingly cannot write a bad sentence), terrific characterizations (especially of the troubled Giovanni and his pathetic 'friends'), and its ability to capture the atmosphere of Americans living in 1950s Paris (..it reminds me of Patricia Highsmith's latter 'Ripley' mystery novels). The book is sad and uncompromisingly honest. Bottom line: WAY beyond sterotypical gay fiction. Giovanni's Room is by any standard fine literature. Compulsory.
Rating:
Summary: Is this Desire?
Review: It is a shame that James Baldwin is so overlooked by the younger generations of readers. There is no parallel to the brilliance in his work and his writing style that is literary and thought provoking. "Giovanni's Room" packs a tremendous emotional punch with its narration of David, an American living in Paris during the 1950's. David's journey is the slow acceptance of his sexuality, as he carries on a relationship with the Italian bartender, Giovanni, while David's fiance, Hella, is abroad in Spain. This novel has withstood decades of censorship on gay literature and we benefit from it. Baldwin takes on sexuality with grace and patience as we watch the narrator battle his own inner demons. Very early on, David tells us that he knows he is at fault for the suffering of those around him and that Giovanni will be will be executed on the guillotine the next morning. David then takes us back into his history with Giovanni and their life in the small room he rents. As the story unfolds, we watch as David creeps into the subculture of Paris, dependent on the money of his wealthy friends who loiter in the gay underground. Yet, there is a sense of contentment from the narrator with his new surroundings, though he does not openly admit to it. He sees his sexuality and his involvement in this "forbidden lifestyle" as a temporary one and then that fragile stability is shattered when Hella finally returns. This book is a treasure that accurately documents one person's journey in self-discovery and questions the lines between love and desire. Thank you, James Baldwin, for what you've left behind for us.
Rating:
Summary: Simply emotional
Review: It was just so beautiful. Incredaibly moving and emotional. Like Romeo and Juliet, right from the start you are told it's a tragdey, but that didn't stop me from going through the book hoping that it wouldn't be. When I reached the end, I just sat there motionless. That was how deep the impression was.
Rating: 
Summary: Contemporary subject matter
Review: James Baldwin is masterful in conveying underlying motives. In his book, Giovanni's Room, he deals very tactfully with the moral pitfalls of sexual relationships. The hero, David, is torn between feelings of homosexuality and heterosexual relationships. Far from being the politically correct propoganda most likely to be published today, Baldwin shines the light of his craft on this subject with startling honesty. He shows great insight into the psyche underpinning moral choices. The character development for the main characters is good but could be better for the others. Yet for such a relatively short novel he does a good job. If you want to read a novel that seems to honestly deal with the realities of this subject, this is the one. He shies away from being hyper-critical in a moral sense, yet doesn't attempt to soften the harsh realities of living this lifestyle. Overall, an excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: Contemporary subject matter
Review: James Baldwin is masterful in conveying underlying motives. In his book, Giovanni's Room, he deals very tactfully with the moral pitfalls of sexual relationships. The hero, David, is torn between feelings of homosexuality and heterosexual relationships. Far from being the politically correct propoganda most likely to be published today, Baldwin shines the light of his craft on this subject with startling honesty. He shows great insight into the psyche underpinning moral choices. The character development for the main characters is good but could be better for the others. Yet for such a relatively short novel he does a good job. If you want to read a novel that seems to honestly deal with the realities of this subject, this is the one. He shies away from being hyper-critical in a moral sense, yet doesn't attempt to soften the harsh realities of living this lifestyle. Overall, an excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: Incomparable and Beautiful
Review: James Baldwin is, without a doubt, one of the most eloquent and talented authors that I have ever been exposed to. In his novel, Giovanni's Room, Baldwin explores the struggle between a man and his sexuality. Torn between his feelings for another man and another woman, we are taken through David's journey of joy, love, anger, pain, and confusion. Through secrets and lies, the story unfolds, teaching that there are no excuses when it comes to real love.
This is by far one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. Each sentence leaves you with a good taste in your mouth. Baldwin's passion and power in writing is proved clearly all throughout the book. His word choice and sentence development is absolutely wonderfully printed, that each page simply flows one after the other. His ability to develop and express each character's thoughts keeps the reader wholly engaged; feeling attached to their personal dilemmas. At the end of the book, you are left with the feeling of complete satisfaction. Although this is a story of a gay man's struggle, it is a story that affects everyone regardless his or hers sexuality. Everyone who has ever been found in a conflict with themselves will discover that this book will touch the hearts, leaving the longing to come in touch with their true self. Anyone who has been caught between desire and morality will relate and find that this book captures the genuine feelings of that difficult and tense struggle.
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