Giovanni's Room

I've been fascinated with James Baldwin every since I read some short piece of his in my Sophomore year English textbook and saw his picture. It looked so ridiculous, he seemed so strung out, complete with cigarette in hand. I had never seen anything like it in a textbook. I assume the editors thought the picture would serve as a warning, send the right message to the kids about which lifestyles and choices were the morally correct ones. However, having always associated myself with those sorts textbook editors disapproved of, I immediately recognized how cool James Baldwin was. He was Black, Gay and on H. An outsider looking for ways to get further outside. So, held this high in my esteem, it surprised me to reflect that I had never read any of this novels, an epiphany that came to me when confronted by a copy of "Giovanni's Room' while scouring the DePaul bookstore for my own textbooks. So I bought the book, read it, and now in my tradition, report back to you, my sweet readers.

Giovanni's Room was entertaining, devilish, introspective and instantly accessible. It surprised me how many pages I was able to get through in the much maligned 30 minute lunch break, where I have found a nice bit of time to finally get back to reading, my long commutes now ended. I wonder though, if there was a larger point which I was missing. Still what I was able to gleam was a moving meditation on the confines that society puts us in and our problems if we're not willing to face and recreate them.