Giovanni’s Room
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A masterpiece of lyrical prose, Giovanni’s Room is a work of art that feels just as relevant now as it did the day it was written. The obvious storyline in the book is David’s struggle with his attraction to Giovanni while his fiance is away traveling. Baldwin adds depth to this by intertwining David’s fragile masculinity with his fear of his attraction to David, and his desire to fit into society and live the life he ‘should’ with his relationship to his fiance. On its own this would be enough to make Giovanni’s Room a once in a lifetime read.
But what really stood out to me was David’s approach to life. He floats through with miserable passivity; never happy but self-medicating with booze or sex instead of trying to make real changes. To quote David at one point in the book,
“I had decided to allow no room in the universe for something which shamed and frightened me. I succeeded very well—by not looking at the universe, by not looking at myself, by remaining, in effect, in constant motion.”
He has chosen hedonism and commits fully in an effort to avoid ever being alone with his own thoughts. David goes through life a raw nerve, stung by the constant reminders that he isn’t as confident or as rich as the out gay or bi men, not as masculine or sociallly accepted as the straight ones. Selfishness ends up as his only defense - he’ll do whatever he has to in order to make it to the next day, the next week. He doesn’t even have the vocabulary to talk about the things bothering him, so on the rare occasion he does want to open up to someone he lacks the tools.
To me this represents a fear of vulnerability that outweighs the fear of being alone. David lives in a world that punishes queerness, and while he seems to want basic human connection he’s too afraid of opening himself up to even more pain to ever attempt the level of vulnerability that would be needed. In a modern world where we all numb ourselves with a constant stream of dopamine and distraction thanks to cell phones and social media, we are at risk of falling into the same patterns David does. Life is hard, and forging genuine connections is even harder. But as hard as it is to remember sometimes, the joy is worth it.
This is a book that everyone should read, possibly on a regular basis. It isn’t comfortable or easy, and the characters aren’t always particularly likable. But it captures the human condition in a way rarely seen. Go buy this book and use it as a discussion starter with friends and family. It’s worth it, I promise.
