James Baldwin, Giovanni's Room

Magdalena J. Zaborowska (University of Michigan)

Ed. by Emory Elliott, University of California, Riverside
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.5: African American Writing and Culture of the United States.
Vol. editors: Philathia Bolton (University of Akron), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), A Yemisi Jimoh (University of Massachusetts Amherst), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1956

Places

United States (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Giovanni's Room

(1956), James Baldwin's second novel, is a masterpiece of narrative composition and constituted a literal and metaphorical coming out for the young author, although Baldwin had already indicated his interest in the profound connection between race and sexuality in his successful novelistic debut, the autobiographical,

Go Tell It on the Mountain

(1953).

Giovanni's Room

is narrated introspectively and retrospectively in the first person by a young, white American named David, who is trying to find himself in post-World War II France. It follows David's exploits in Paris, where he keeps company with the Saint-Germain crowd of homosexuals, while his official American fiancée, Hella, is traveling in Spain. The central focus is on David's struggle with his sexual identity and…

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1895 words

Citation: Zaborowska, Magdalena J.. "Giovanni's Room". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 June 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4964, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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