Giovanni’s Room

Service95 Recommends Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. Set in the backdrop of 1950s Paris, David, an American ex-patriot, is waiting for his fiancee's return from a trip to Spain when he meets an Italian barmen, Giovanni, and they become lovers. Explore Giovanni's Room and other reviews with Service95 Recommends.

What We Say: The ill-fated story of the relationship between David, a young American in 1950s Paris, and Giovanni, a handsome but troubled Italian barman. Considered ground-breaking when it was published in 1956, James Baldwin’s classic queer love story bears the hallmarks you would expect from Baldwin – an unflinching examination of race, sexuality and class.

What They Say: “Baldwin writes of these matters with unusual candour and yet with such dignity and intensity” – The New York Times

Available on Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble

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Maria Padget is the Book Club Director at Service95