Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

£9.99

Fleur

‘Filled with the heartache of recognising the wonder and enormity of true love when you find it, and the misery that is sure to come if you fail to embrace it, can’t allow yourself to fully acknowledge it, and ultimately let it go. This book is all the more extraordinary considering the context and the time it was written.’

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Description

One of the BBC’s ‘100 Novels That Shaped Our World’

Baldwin’s ground-breaking second novel, which established him as one of the great American writers of his time

David, a young American in 1950s Paris, is waiting for his fiancée to return from vacation in Spain. But when he meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman, the two men are drawn into an intense affair. After three months David’s fiancée returns and, denying his true nature, he rejects Giovanni for a ‘safe’ future as a married man. His decision eventually brings tragedy.

Filled with passion, regret and longing, this story of a fated love triangle has become a landmark of gay writing. James Baldwin caused outrage as a black author writing about white homosexuals, yet for him the issues of race, sexuality and personal freedom were eternally intertwined.

‘Exquisite… a feat of fire-breathing, imaginative daring’ Guardian

‘Excruciating beauty’ San Francisco Chronicle

‘Audacious… remarkable… elegant and courageous’ Caryl Phillips

Additional information

Attribute Value 1

Paperback