This tale, set in Paris, tells a sad story of an American man whose girlfriend is traveling on vacation in Spain. He meets an Italian bartender Giovanni and falls in love. At the time, such love is illegal in America, and while not illegal in France, it is culturally shunned. Renowned author James Baldwin captures what such social oppression can do to an innocent, loving relationship in that era. It ostensibly details a romantic tragedy while implicitly it begs for better social conditions for homosexuals.
Recent decades have witnessed a change in social attitudes about homosexuality. Indeed, I have witnessed a change in my own attitudes about homosexuality. While much work remains to be done, we, in the west, at least, have become more accepting and understanding of the unique dilemmas such love poses. And we have widened and deepened by seeing that such love is a universal human love. Yes, love is love is love.
Baldwin’s telling brings us back to a different era. Written and set in the 1950s, Baldwin documents an all-too-typical plot line. All too frequently in that time, love becomes impossible, self-love becomes impossible, and conforming to society becomes impossible. Baldwin shows us the consequences and cost in lost human life. In this story, Giovanni’s room, once a haven for love, becomes a reason for haunting, not just for two human lives but for everyone impacted by the relationship. In eloquent terms, it reminds us that we all bear tragic consequences when we don’t prioritize love first.
I’m a cisgender, heterosexual white male in America. In other words, I have a lot of privilege. Reading this story helped bring the inner lives of various friends to life. Without having to delve into a painful, personal dialogue, it told me of some of the cost they have born just for being themselves. In a democracy where a homophobic backlash is only a charismatic politician away, moving books like Baldwin’s can help us remember why we’ve taken the steps we have and why we must never go back.
Giovanni’s Room: A Novel
By James Baldwin
Narrated by Dan Butler
Copyright (c) 1956, 2013
Blackstone Audio
ASIN B00C4O2AHQ
Length: 6:49
Genre: Fiction
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