"Set in the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality."--Page 4 of cover.

Set in the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality. With a sharp, probing imagination, James Baldwin's now-classic narrative delves into the mystery of loving and creates a moving, highly controversial story of death and passion that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart.

"The groundbreaking novel by one of the most important twentieth-century American writers--now in an Everyman's Library Contemporary Classics hardcover edition. Giovanni's Room is set in the Paris of the 1950s, where a young American expatriate finds himself caught between his repressed desires and conventional morality. David has just proposed marriage to his American girlfriend, but while she is away on a trip he becomes involved in a doomed affair with a bartender named Giovanni. With sharp, probing insight, James Baldwin's classic narrative delves into the mystery of love and tells an impassioned, deeply moving story that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart. Introduction by Colm Toibin"-- "A hardcover edition of James Baldwin's classic novel, with a new introduction by Colm Toibin"--

Fiction. African American Fiction. Literature. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML:Set among the bohemian bars and nightclubs of 1950s Paris, this groundbreaking novel about love and the fear of love is "a book that belongs in the top rank of fiction" (The Atlantic).
In the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality. 
David is a young American expatriate who has just proposed marriage to his girlfriend, Hella. While she is away on a trip, David meets a bartender named Giovanni to whom he is drawn in spite of himself. Soon the two are spending the night in Giovanni�??s curtainless room, which he keeps dark to protect their privacy. But Hella�??s return to Paris brings the affair to a crisis, one that rapidly spirals into tragedy.
David struggles for self-knowledge during one long, dark night�??�??the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life.�?�  With a sharp, probing imagination, James Baldwin's now-classic narrative delves into the mystery of loving and creates a deeply moving story of death and passion that reveals the unspoken complexities of t

Considered an 'audacious' second novel, GIOVANNI'S ROOM is set in the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence. This now-classic story of a fated love triangle explores, with uncompromising clarity, the conflicts between desire, conventional morality and sexual identity.

"Set in the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality"--Page 4 of cover. 1950's Paris. After a homosexual experience in adolescence, David represses the impulses he finds unacceptable. In Paris he has an affair with Hella Lincoln, and proposes marriage. She considers his proposal on a trip to Spain, David has an affair lasting several months with Giovanni, an Italian bartender. Still unable to reconcile homosexuality with the life he envisions for himself, David travels with Hella, but is discovered by her in a gay bar with a sailor as he struggles to accept himself.

When David meets the sensual Giovanni in a bohemian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But his girlfriend's return to Paris destroys everything. Unable to admit to the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened - while Giovanni's life descends into tragedy.

"Giovanni's Room traces one man's struggle with his sexual identity. In a 1950s Paris swarming with expatriates and characterized by dangerous liaisons and hidden violence, an American finds himself confronting secret desires that jeopardize the conventional life he envisions for himself. After meeting and proposing to a young woman, he falls into a lengthy affair with an Italian bartender and is confounded and tortured as he oscillates between the two." "Now a classic of gay literature, Baldwin's haunting and controversial second novel is his most sustained treatment of sexuality. Examining the agonizing mystery of love and passion in an intensely imagined yet beautifully restrained narrative, Baldwin creates a moving and complex story of death and desire that is revelatory in its insight."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

'Until I die there will be those moments, moments seeming to rise up out of the ground like Macbeth's witches, when his face will come before me, that face in all its changes, when the exact timbre of his voice and tricks of his speech will nearly burst my ears, when his smell will overpower my nostrils...' Giovanni's Room is set in the Paris of the 1950s, where a young American expatriate finds himself caught between his repressed desires and conventional morality. David has just proposed marriage to his American girlfriend, but while she is away on a trip he becomes involved in a doomed affair with a bartender named Giovanni. With sharp, probing insight, James Baldwin's classic narrative delves into the mystery of love and tells an impassioned, deeply moving story that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart.

James Baldwin's groundbreaking novel about love and the fear of love is set among the bohemian bars and nightclubs of 1950s Paris. David is a young American expatriate who has just proposed marriage to his girlfriend, Hella. While she is away on a trip, David meets a bartender named Giovanni to whom he is drawn in spite of himself. Soon the two are spending the night in Giovanni's curtainless room, which he keeps dark to protect their privacy. But Hella's return to Paris brings the affair to a crisis, one that rapidly spirals into tragedy. Caught between his repressed desires and conventional morality, David struggles for self-knowledge during one long, dark night--"the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life." With sharp, probing insight, Giovanni's Room tells an impassioned, deeply moving story that lays bare the unspoken complexities of the human heart.  Introduction by Colm T#65533;ib#65533;n

When David meets the sensual Giovanni in a bohemian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But his girlfriend's return to Paris destroys everything. Unable to admit to the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened - while Giovanni's life descends into tragedy. United by the theme of love, the writings in the Great Loves series span over two thousand years and vastly different worlds. Readers will be introduced to love's endlessly fascinating possibilities and extremities- romantic love, platonic love, erotic love, gay love, virginal love, adulterous love, parental love, filial love, nostalgic love, unrequited love, illicit love, not to mention lost love, twisted and obsessional love...

An American, separated from his fiance?e, becomes involved in an intense relationship with a young Italian bartender while in Paris.

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 fianc? 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 fianc? 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

An American in post-war Paris finds himself caught between the conventional life he has planned with his fiance?e and his attraction to an Italian bartender.

This tale of conflicted sexual identity in the 1950s centers around the experiences of the American expatriate David, living in Paris and struggling with his feelings of attraction to other men. Unable to face the truth about himself, David proposes to Hella Lincoln. While she is in Spain mulling over his proposal, David falls in love with Giovanni, an Italian bartender and must choose between a conventional life or being true to his own feelings.

David, a young American expatriate in the south of France, becomes romantically involved with a man and a woman.

Giovanni's Room is set in the Paris of the 1950s, where a young American expatriate finds himself caught between his repressed desires and conventional morality. David has just proposed marriage to his American girlfriend, but while she is away on a trip he becomes involved in a doomed affair with a bartender named Giovanni. With sharp, probing insight, James Baldwin's classic narrative delves into the mystery of love and tells an impassioned, deeply moving story that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart.

Originally published: New York: Dial Press, 1956.

Fiction. Literature. HTML:

"If Van Gogh was our 19th-century artist-saint, James Baldwin is our 20th-century one."

. "A young American involved with both a woman and a man...Baldwin writes of these matters with unusual candor and yet with such dignity and intensity.". "Absorbing...[with] immediate emotional impact.". "Mr. Baldwin has taken a very special theme and treated it with great artistry and restraint.". "Exciting...a book that belongs in the top rank of fiction.". "Violent, excruciating beauty.". HTML:

Set in the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality. With a sharp, probing imagination, James Baldwin's now-classic narrative delves into the mystery of loving and creates a moving, highly controversial story of death and passion that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart.

.

Baldwin's haunting and controversial second novel is his most sustained treatment of sexuality, and a classic of gay literature. In a 1950s Paris swarming with expatriates and characterized by dangerous liaisons and hidden violence, an American finds himself unable to repress his impulses, despite his determination to live the conventional life he envisions for himself. After meeting and proposing to a young woman, he falls into a lengthy affair with an Italian bartender and is confounded and tortured by his sexual identity as he oscillates between the two. Examining the mystery of love and passion in an intensely imagined narrative, Baldwin creates a moving and complex story of death and desire that is revelatory in its insight.

James Baldwin’s groundbreaking novel about love and the fear of love is set among the bohemian bars and nightclubs of 1950s Paris. In the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality. With a sharp, probing imagination, James Baldwin's now-classic narrative delves into the mystery of loving and creates a moving, highly controversial story of death and passion that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart. "A book that belongs in the top rank of fiction.”  —The Atlantic.

Take your understanding of Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin to a whole new level, anywhere you go: on a plane, on a mountain, in a canoe, under a tree. Or grab a flashlight and read Shmoop under the covers.Shmoop's award-winning learning guides are now available on your favorite eBook reader. Shmoop eBooks are like a trusted, fun, chatty, expert literature-tour-guide always by your side, no matter where you are (or how late it is at night). You'll find thought-provoking character analyses, quotes, summaries, themes, symbols, trivia, and lots of insightful commentary in Shmoop's literature guides. Teachers and experts from top universities, including Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Harvard have lovingly created these guides to get your brain bubbling.Shmoop is here to make you a better lover of literature and to help you discover connections to other works of literature, history, current events, and pop culture. These interactive study guides will help you discover and rediscover some of the greatest works of all time. For more info, check out http://www.shmoop.com/literature/

"A hardcover edition of James Baldwin's classic novel, with a new introduction by Colm Toibin"-- "The groundbreaking novel by one of the most important twentieth-century American writers--now in an Everyman's Library Contemporary Classics hardcover edition. Giovanni's Room is set in the Paris of the 1950s, where a young American expatriate finds himself caught between his repressed desires and conventional morality. David has just proposed marriage to his American girlfriend, but while she is away on a trip he becomes involved in a doomed affair with a bartender named Giovanni. With sharp, probing insight, James Baldwin's classic narrative delves into the mystery of love and tells an impassioned, deeply moving story that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart. Introduction by Colm Toibín"-- "A hardcover edition of James Baldwin's classic novel, with a new introduction by Colm Toibin"-- "The groundbreaking novel by one of the most important twentieth-century American writers--now in an Everyman's Library Contemporary Classics hardcover edition. Giovanni's Room is set in the Paris of the 1950s, where a young American expatriate finds himself caught between his repressed desires and conventional morality. David has just proposed marriage to his American girlfriend, but while she is away on a trip he becomes involved in a doomed affair with a bartender named Giovanni. With sharp, probing insight, James Baldwin's classic narrative delves into the mystery of love and tells an impassioned, deeply moving story that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart. Introduction by Colm Toibin"--

The book focuses on the life of an American man living in Paris, and his feelings and frustrations with his relationships with other men in his life, particularly an Italian bartender he meets in a Parisian gay bar, called Giovanni.

Liebesgeschichte zweier junger Männer im Paris der Nachkriegszeit. (Cornelia Jetter) David, ein junger Amerikaner, konnte sich nach seiner ersten homosexuellen Erfahrung nicht mehr im Spiegel betrachten. Verdrängt seine Neigung und verliebt sich in Hella. Die es in Erwägung zieht David zu heiraten, sich aber vorerst noch nicht festlegen möchte und wie auch David erst einmal auf Reisen geht. David fährt nach Paris. Trotz seiner Abneigung zieht es ihn ins Schwulenmilieu. Krampfhaft versucht er vor seinen Bekannten und Freunden sein Lust zu verbergen bis er auf den gefühlvollen, hinreißenden Barkeeper Giovanni trifft. Es beginnt ein Liebe die eigentlich nicht schöner sein könnte, bis auf Davids Selbsthass und seine Alibi-Gefühlen für Hella. Ein wirklich einfühlender Roman, der beschreibt wie schwer es ist sich seine Homosexualität einzugestehen.

Mens hans forlovede, Hella, er på rundrejse i Spanien, forelsker David sig i den italienske bartender, Giovanni. Snart flytter han ind hos Giovanni, men da Hella vender tilbage til Paris tre måneder senere, er David tvunget til at vælge mellem de to.

En homoseksuel amerikaners tanker den nat, hvor hans veninde, som han skulle giftes med, har sagt ham farvel, og hvor hans ven, som han stod i kærlighedsforhold til, venter på sin henrettelse.

Cuando James Baldwin present� por primera vez el manuscrito de El cuarto de Giovanni a su editor, este no solo lo rechaz�, sino que le aconsej� quemarlo. La novela narraba la historia de un tr�gico tri�ngulo amoroso, rebosante de deseo, pasi�n y arrepentimiento. Su publicaci�n en 1956 provoc� un gran esc�ndalo entre la sociedad biempensante estadounidense y rompi� m�s de un tab�: Baldwin era un escritor negro que escrib�a sobre el amor entre dos hombres blancos. De inmediato se convirti� en una obra de culto. Hoy es considerada una de las obras fundamentales de la literatura queer y una de las grandes novelas norteamericanas del siglo XX. David es uno de los muchos estadounidenses que pululan por el Par�s bohemio de los a�os cincuenta, adonde se ha mudado para "encontrarse a s� mismo". Una noche, mientras aguarda el regreso a la ciudad de su novia, a quien acaba de proponer matrimonio, David conoce a Giovanni, un barman italiano, luminoso, insolente y seductor, por el que siente una irremediable atracci�n. Los dos hombres se entregan a una relaci�n apasionada y clandestina, confinada al cuarto de Giovanni, mientras el inminente regreso de Hella se convierte en un nubarr�n que se cierne sobre los amantes.

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (1957)

David, un giovane newyorkese in fuga da se stesso, ©· approdato a Parigi nel tentativo di affrancarsi dalla propria educazione, e dalla vita da ragazzo perbene che sembra essergli stata cucita addosso. Mentre la sua fidanzata, Hella, ©· in Spagna per riflettere sul futuro della loro storia, in un bar David conosce Giovanni, impertinente e luminoso, e ne rimane irrimediabilmente attratto. E dal loro incontro, dal primo momento in cui entra nella sua stanza, piccola e disordinata, sapr© di essere perduto, che n©♭ la vergogna n©♭ la paura riusciranno a riportarlo a casa. Diviso tra Hella che incarna il desiderio di normalit© , il sogno di una tranquilla vita americana, e Giovanni che invece ©· forza, cuore e istinto, David attraversa le strade di Parigi, vede i colori e le stagioni passare, sente passioni e bisogni taciuti riemergere e chiedere il conto. La difesa della propria identit© implica sempre una lotta dolorosa, e cos©Ơ ©· anche per David, solo che la sua debolezza e la sua indecisione faranno soffrire tutti coloro che lo amano e che lui stesso ama. Come ha dichiarato lo stesso Baldwin in un'intervista del 1984: La stanza di Giovanni parla di quello che succede se hai paura di amare. Prefazione di Colm Tibin.