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Review - Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

I’m unable to make up my mind about this book. The way it begins gives you an uncanny feeling. When you are halfway through it, you understand it better. But what happens afterwards grips you. It doesn’t let you move from your place. In the beginning, I was trying to make out what was going on, but in the end, I was shocked. It was not like it wasn’t obvious, yet it gave an eerie feeling thinking about all that happened with The Protagonist, Giovanni and Hella.

Giovanni’s character was straightforward, yet there was so much depth in it. On the other hand, The Protagonist was sharp but a little insensitive. I was rolling my eyes at his replies all the time. The choices he made were not peculiar but weren’t good as well.

But, I guess there are some choices in our life that are difficult. So talking about them is like addressing them, and we might not be in a position to do that at that specific moment. Thus, it makes sense. But nothing good came out for Giovanni in it. He lost everything because of the protagonist. Such is love, I guess, that makes you do unthinkable things. 

The book was published in 1956. So the theme that it revolved around would have made some noise back then, I believe. I would still recommend you to read it because it offered something offbeat. Also, I found similarities in the relationship portrayed in the book with the present scenario. Though the situation might differ, sometimes people are bound because of various reasons and can’t control things. Thus, it leads to furthermore disappointment in both parties. It still happens if you choose to look around yourself. 

Rating - 3/5

Genre - Classics

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