#12 in Classics
Giovanni's Room
- 224
- Pages
- about 4 h
- Reading time
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About the book
Giovanni's Room is a 1956 novel by James Baldwin. The book concerns the events in the life of an American man living in Paris and his feelings and frustrations with his relationships with other men, particularly an Italian bartender named Giovanni whom he meets at a Parisian gay bar. While he deals with his difficulties with men, he is engaged to an American woman who is travelling in Spain.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.7 across 657 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 81% of the weight and the score stays at 8.5 — the Classics average of 7.7 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.4 | 37 | 6% |
| Hardcover | 8.7 | 620 | 94% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“Desire, Denial, Destruction Reading this book is like admiring a smashed stained glass window. A great gay novel. Baldwin presents us with an impartial portrait of an expatriate in France grappling with his future and his identity. You learn early on how this story ends…”
Frequently asked
How long is Giovanni's Room?
It has 224 pages — shorter than 70% of the ranked books in Classics.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Classics — with scores between 8.4 and 8.6, closest to this book.
