August Book Club: Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

Hi everyone, for August our theme is ‘second chances’. Books which have been voted second from the poll from the previous 7 months. The winner is Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. Synopsis below:

Baldwin's ground-breaking second novel, which established him as one of the great American writers of his time

'Audacious... remarkable... elegant and courageous' Caryl Phillips

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 who he is, he rejects Giovanni for a 'safe' future as a married man. It is a decision that will bring tragedy.

'Exquisite, a feat of fire-breathing, imaginative daring' Guardian

'Gorgeous, fearless, tempered by dark knowledge and pain ... the greatest American prose stylist of his generation' Colm Tóibín

'A layered exploration of queer desire ... It is electric' Hilton Als

See you there 🥂

Steph & Christina