Giovanni's Room (Deluxe Edition): A Novel (Vintage International)

Synopsis

In 1950s Paris, David is waiting for his fiancée to return from Spain when he begins an intense relationship with Giovanni, a young Italian bartender. As desire collides with shame, fear, and the expectations of the life he believes he should want, David's inability to accept himself sets both men on a tragic course. What follows is not simply a love story, but a devastating exploration of identity, loneliness, and the cost of denying one's own truth.

Written with extraordinary emotional clarity and psychological depth, Giovanni's Room is one of the defining novels of the twentieth century. James Baldwin strips away easy moral judgments to examine love, masculinity, alienation, and the longing to belong. Elegant, heartbreaking, and remarkably modern, the novel remains one of the most powerful works ever written about the complexities of the human heart. This deluxe edition includes a new introduction by Kevin Young and cover art featuring a portrait of Baldwin by his friend Beauford Delaney.

About the Author

James Baldwin (1924–1987) was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and one of the most important literary voices of the twentieth century. His work explored race, sexuality, identity, faith, and social justice with unmatched honesty and lyrical power. The author of Go Tell It on the Mountain, Notes of a Native Son, The Fire Next Time, and Giovanni's Room, Baldwin spent much of his life in France, where he wrote many of his most celebrated works.

Publisher

Vintage

Publication Date

June 18, 2024

Format

Paperback

Pages

192

Subjects

Literary Fiction · LGBTQ+ Fiction · American Literature · Modern Classics · Psychological Fiction

ISBN

9780593688960