Giovanni’s room was a beautifully written, complex story about a expat in Paris who falls into a complicated relationship with another man. He grapples with internalized homophobia; his emotions conflicting with his thoughts, the disconnect, at times, between his “mind” (which was concerned with societal opinions and social norms) and his body. It portrayed the struggles of sexuality well. A large part of the story took place in, or referenced, Giovanni’s Room, which gave the story a suffocating feel, building tension as David himself slowly felt more and more “trapped.”  Though I felt the main character, David, was at times frustratingly passive, I recognize it was probably due to his inner turmoil. Again there is nothing I can say better than Baldwin can himself but what I will say is that there is an air of tragedy that surrounds this book and it eats at you until you reach its sad conclusion. I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time and obviously it will be one that I recommend to other people.