See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

14 used & new from £1.01
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Giovanni's Room (Twentieth Century Classics)
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside another edition of this book

Giovanni's Room (Twentieth Century Classics) (Hardcover)

by James Baldwin (Author) "I stand at the window of this great house in the south of France as night falls, the night which is leading me to the..." (more)
4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


2 new from £68.00 12 used from £1.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 4 used & new from £117.48
Paperback £4.99 £4.74 43 used & new from £0.69
Mass Market Paperback (Reissue) 12 used & new from £0.01
Unknown Binding Order it used

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Go Tell it on the Mountain (Penguin Modern Classics)

Go Tell it on the Mountain (Penguin Modern Classics)

by James Baldwin
4.5 out of 5 stars (4)  £6.49
Another Country (Penguin Modern Classics)

Another Country (Penguin Modern Classics)

by James Baldwin
4.3 out of 5 stars (15)  £6.49
Tracks

Tracks

by Louise Erdrich
3.4 out of 5 stars (7)  £5.99
As I Lay Dying

As I Lay Dying

by William Faulkner
4.1 out of 5 stars (12)  £4.79
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Dover Thrift)

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (Dover Thrift)

by Harriet Jacobs
3.8 out of 5 stars (5)  £2.50
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (30 Aug 1990)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140184120
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140184129
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.8 x 0.9 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 265,317 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #17 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Baldwin, James
    #21 in  Books > Fiction > Gay & Lesbian > Short Stories > Gay
    #21 in  Books > Fiction > Gay & Lesbian > Anthologies > Gay

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description
First published in 1957, this book attempts to tackle the conflict between homosexual and heterosexual love. It tells of David, a young man awakening to his true homosexual nature, through a relationship with a barman named Giovanni, as he awaits his fiancee's arrival from Spain.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
I stand at the window of this great house in the south of France as night falls, the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life. Read the first page
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(2)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Giovanni's Room (Twentieth Century Classics)
89% buy the item featured on this page:
Giovanni's Room (Twentieth Century Classics) 4.7 out of 5 stars (18)
Go Tell it on the Mountain (Penguin Modern Classics)
3% buy
Go Tell it on the Mountain (Penguin Modern Classics) 4.5 out of 5 stars (4)
£6.49
At Swim, Two Boys
3% buy
At Swim, Two Boys 4.6 out of 5 stars (28)
£6.99
The Story of the Night
3% buy
The Story of the Night 4.8 out of 5 stars (13)
£5.99
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
5 star:
 (14)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful novel about human relationships., 27 Oct 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Giovanni's Room (Paperback)
Not often does one encounter a novel that changes the way one thinks, that touches one deeply with its powerful story and realistic characters. 'Giovanni's Room' is one of these novels. It is written beautifully, like a long-lost tale but the pain in the novel reflects real life and human relationships. The selfishness, uncertainty, fears, love and passion of human beings are portrayed here for the reader to identify with them. The poignant way in which Baldwin describes Giovanni trying to better his 'room' for his ungrateful American lover is breath-taking. This novel is not only about sexuality, it digs deep into rifts of culture and class.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, and painful, 25 May 2007
By Andrea Pontiroli (Rome, Italy) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Giovanni's Room (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)
This is an excellent novel, I could not put it down, in spite of the fact that, knowing that it would all go terribly bad, I was always scared of what could happen. It is a sad story, and yet so true, in the way it portrays a city, a historical period, and the realisation (and denial) of one's homosexuality. Yes, the main character is a coward, and yet Baldwin does not push the reader into hating him. We don't like him, we would not behave like him, still we can understand.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars My all time favorite book, 26 Sep 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Giovanni's Room (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)
If you've never read any James Baldwin before I urge you do so. He is a writer of great power, able to take you into the world of the characers and able to empathise with those characters and understand how they would react to the circumstances in which he places them. As a gay black man in America at the time of the black rights movement he was victimised on both fronts, hence his characters are often black, or gay, or both.

Giovanni's Room remains the best book I have ever read. I have recommended it to many friends, all have whom have loved it, many have been moved by it. If you read this I strongly suspect you will want to read more by this man.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 		 Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The desire to be loved
This short novella encapsulates the oppressive atmosphere of a city, a culture and of a room - a room in which a damaged desperate man cruelly uses and discards another, in order... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Daniel Park

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.
I don't even know where to begin from in reviewing this short little book. Well, maybe a good start would certainly be: read it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Francesconi Alessandra

2.0 out of 5 stars I Might Need To Read This Again One Day
I decided that while I was in Paris I would read a book that was based there. I had several hours to kill on the Eurostar and wanted something that wasn't a holiday read and... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Simon Savidge "savidgeread...

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Stuff Doesn't Age, It Matures
Although advancing in its fifties, Giovanni's Room is a novel which does not get older, it only gets better. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Ford Ka

5.0 out of 5 stars First Love
I found this such an interesting book to read. About a young man, David, who while in Paris, away from his fiance, has a relationship with an italian barman named Giovanni, which... Read more
Published 12 months ago by ADAM

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, emotional and tragic. Worthy of 'classic'
The book set in Paris, and is about an American who due to marry his fiancé upon her return from travelling Spain, but the problem is he is a man who has repressed his... Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2006 by H. R. Trigg

5.0 out of 5 stars flawless
What can one say about such a book? It's absorbing, lyrical, interesting, entertaining, intelligent, beautiful, and revealing which confirms it's standing as a work of art.
Published on 29 Aug 2004 by O. F. Thorsteinsson

4.0 out of 5 stars Historical context
The best of this pile of cheap pockets I bought. Dodgy cover, but good story about a man who has a homosexual affair while his fiancee is travelling. Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2003 by gerbie7

5.0 out of 5 stars Complusive, Charming, Tragic
Baldwin's style is completely engaging; time and again he seems to hit exactly the right note, choosing that elusive and precise word. Read more
Published on 13 Sep 2002

4.0 out of 5 stars A powerful novel rich in emotion and symbolism
In this novel, Baldwin captures the torment faced by a young man in a foreign city with desires he dare not admit to himself. Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2001

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Fun for Everyone

Christmas Gifts
Achieve over 15,000 RPM with our great range of Powerballs.

›Shop the Powerball store

  

More From James Baldwin

Go Tell it...

Go Tell it on the Mountain

"Nothing but the darkness, and all around them destruction, and before... Read more
£9.99 £6.49

 

A Close Shave

Philips Nivea Coolskin HS8060 Moisturizing Rotary Shaving System
For all types of hair removal, stay smooth with Amazon.co.uk.

›Discover Shaving & Hair Removal

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4.5 out of 5 stars (72)£3.86
 Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
4.1 out of 5 stars (460)£6.49
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (162)£3.99
 The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.2 out of 5 stars (80)£3.86

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates