What an incredible book. I knew from reading If Beale Street Could Talk that James Baldwin was a good writer, but it is rare for me to appreciate a book on just a literary level. The prose, the symbolism, the way it’s so clear what the narrator is experiencing even though he himself is hiding from his feelings—it was phenomenal. Written in the 1950s and set in Paris, the novel follows narrator David through his relationship with Giovanni and the aftermath of its ending. We know from […]
Can I Just Say “Wow!” and Leave It at That?
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin