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Giovanni's Room

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

  • Format
  • paperback
  • Pages
  • 176
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 978-0-14-118635-1
  • EAN
  • 9780141186351
  • Release date
  • 2001