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A few months ago, I was blown away by the documentary I Am Not Your Negro, which featured James Baldwin. I only heard of Baldwin a few years prior, via other GR friends' reviews of his books. I had his books on my TBR list, but they were there with six hundred other books ...
Anyway, that documentary pushed me to seek some of his books.

It didn't occur to me when watching the documentary that Baldwin was gay. The poor man, being black and gay, during a very reprehensible period in US history. Not only he had to fight against the white people, against the system because of his race, he had to hide and fight his own community's homophobia. No wonder he escaped to France for a while.

Anyway, I had to remind myself that Giovanni's Room is not autobiographical, although it must have drawn inspiration from his personal experiences. I plan to read a bit more about Balwin and this novel.

As I was reading Giovanni's Room I had to remind myself several times that the main character, David, an American in Paris, was a white man. David is in the closet and is ashamed by his one time encounter with a male friend. As the only child of a nice man, he feels it's his duty to be the "right" way. It's not only that, it's the 1950s and earlier, homosexuality is illegal. Paris though is more relaxed. While the cat was away, in this case, Hetta, David's fiancee, he has a dalliance with Giovanni, a beautiful and passionate Italian bartender, whom he met in a gay bar. The two have a passionate affair for a little while, even sharing Giovanni's small room. Giovanni's small, cluttered, dirty room is a metaphor of sorts for David's complex feelings, especially when he knows the time is approaching when he has to make a decision - to have a respectable life that includes a wife and kids or to give in to his preferences?

It's important to remember that this was published in 1959. That's quite a feat in itself. The fact that it was written by a black man, way before the Civil movement, makes this novel even more significant.

Baldwin's writing is beautifully lyrical and packaged tightly. You can sense the doubt and dread, the fear, the self-loathing.
None of the male characters is likeable, that includes David himself.

This is a very sad novel, albeit one beautifully written.