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< Easy > < No Going Home > < The Good Thief > < My Fair Captain > < Temperature's Rising: A Midsummer's Night Steam (Midsummer's Nights Steam) > < Caught Running > Ally Blue

price： 285
MLR Press
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customer 's review
(Easy)

(Yes! Finally available in print.)

(4.5 Stars for Easy)

When Dan Corazon finds Stevie Sanger naked, beaten and abandoned, something about the abused young man calls to Dan's protective instincts. Without question, Dan sees to his care and soon learns that Stevie is a prostitute and unwilling to pursue his attacker. While he has every reason to leave, Dan simply can't abandon the fascinating young man. Offering to help him get back on his feet, Dan invites Stevie to live with him. Although not sure he deserves to take it, Stevie ultimately can't resist the comfort and safety of the offer. From the beginning both are intensely attracted, but reticent to act. Dan doesn't want to push Stevie, and more importantly, he is not openly gay. Used to hiding his true self, Dan is afraid of a relationship with the very out Stevie and not exactly sure how to pursue it. While Stevie can see that Dan is obviously interested, he misinterprets Dan's inaction and assumes he doesn't want a former rent boy. The more time the two spend together, the closer they become. In no time the pair discover how easy it is to fall in love, but how difficult making it work can be. With an opportunity for each to begin a new and better life, will they find a way to leave the past behind them?

Easy is a heartwarming tale that sizzles. Although Easy deals with the unsavory world of prostitution, it is tastefully handled. The dark and seedy was balanced by love and compassion. With a message of hope, a sense of fun, and wonderful characters, Ms. Blue creates a romantic story that rings true. I loved both men. Stevie's indomitable spirit masks a fragile heart. Dan's love and support provide Stevie with exactly what he needs. While Dan is an all round great guy, he is coming to terms with himself. Their faults do cause problems, but I wanted them together! Watching the sexual and emotional tension build had me squirming in my seat and cheering for a speedy resolution. Add in some fun and quirky supporting characters and great villains, and you get a suspenseful, sensual read that will leave you with a smile. Ally Blue knows how to write truly satisfying man love that leaves me wanting more!

Cheryl
reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
This one is Ally's earlier works and one which I still remember vividly though I read it 2 years ago.
Dan's and Stevie's love story is emotionally written, filled with so much heartache and pain. Certain scenes just have me all choked up. The 2 characters are well developed and Stevie is endearing. Their love is filled with obstacles as Dan has to accept himself and Stevie is prey to a pimp who refuses to lose his boy. Ally has given us a remarkable, angst filled and stirring love story which I am very glad to have finally in print. A must for all M/M romance fans.
Dan is a construction worker, who happens to be deep in the closet. Stevie is a prostitute who goes by the name Sunshine. Dan finds Stevie in an abandoned building after a particularly brutal session with a "customer" and takes him in. Love soon blooms between them, but life is never easy, especially when Dan doesn't want to be public with their relationship. Even more problematic, Sunshine's pimp wants him back - and will stop at nothing to recover him. The story is a little predictable, but still keeps a reader turning the pages.

Though Stevie is a cliche - a very effeminate, slightly stereotypical gay man - his character is fun and light-hearted, despite the horrors in his life. His character makes the book great, because you just can't help but love him and root for him to be happy. This novel reminded me of the movie "Pretty Woman," only with a male instead of female. A "hooker with a heart of gold," that's Stevie. Only Stevie must endure the tragedy of violation and pain in a way that is not often found in romance fiction. And his knight in shining armor isn't rich, and must overcome his own insecurities before he can look beyond himself. The sex between the two is more tender than hot, but just as enjoyable. And Dan's best friend is a well done minor character that helps move the story along and provide some humor.

This was wonderful, touching, sad, and so much more. Easy is one of Blue's best novels and I am happy to rebuy it now that it's available in print.
Dan get is a man with a secret. Stevie Sanger is fighting a past that won't leave him alone. They want each other from the moment they meet, and that attraction quickly blossoms into something deeper, something that could become permanent. But first, they need to overcome all the obstacles in their way. Dan's fear of his own nature, Stevie's belief that he's not good enough for Dan. The unresolved pieces of Stevie's past. Building the relationship they both want may be a challenge too big for either of them. But nothing worth having is ever easy.
Rerations
< Easy > < No Going Home > < The Good Thief > < My Fair Captain > < Temperature's Rising: A Midsummer's Night Steam (Midsummer's Nights Steam) > freaks

< Winds of Fortune > < The Lonely Hearts Club > < In the Name of the Father > < Focus of Desire > < Word of Honor (Honor (Bold Strokes Books)) > < Honor Under Siege > Radclyffe

price： 510
Bold Strokes Books
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customer 's review
(Good)

(Radclyffe does it again)

(Winds of Fortune)

(Deftly woven tale handled by a master - 3 1/2 stars)

(never disappointing)

Compared to the other books in the series, I think this one is pretty good. Not the best, but good, a solid installment that kept me interested in the characters. Reese and Tory, have slipped in the background somewhat on this one, but are still the heartbeat of the novel--I would have loved more storyline on Bri and Carre, but I definately understand that this was Nita's story and journey-but I felt the reasoning for some of her issues just didn't compell me.
A Radclyfffe book is a guaranteed good book. This latest saga in the Provincetown series is the best one so far. I have grown very attached to all the characters.
Winds of Fortune

Another good read in a series of good books. For me, a good book to read is a great way to reward myself and Radclyffe's books are the best reward there is.
I'll start off by saying that I rarely read anthologies or short stories because I'm always left wanting more, to know more, to experience more. That's just my quirk, and perhaps my attention deficit disorder, but it colors my reviews. For me this book hit a lot of similar buttons of mine: with so many characters going about their lives I sort of get frustrated and left with the over all impression that the book was somewhat shallow.

However, Radclyffe is so skilled at transitioning between the sets of characters and interweaving the story lines, that I can't stay annoyed. Other authors are not able to pull this off nearly so well. I've complained on multiple books about the lack of transitory language, and connection between scenes, and this is something I never have to worry about with Radclyffe. It's such a pleasure to just experience, and that alone is worth the extra half star.

I've loved the characters of Tory and Reese since Safe Harbor, and was pleased with the peace they found in this outing. Bri has grown on me; and Allie actually stopped being annoying in this book. I too would like to see a book with more of her, and her journey to getting her life together. Meanwhile, my enjoyment at getting to spend time with this family (I forgot, KT and Pia are also back in supporting roles) lends this book more depth than if it was written in a vacuum. Nita and Deo are intriguing, and their courtship is fraught with past hurt and anger, and it's nice to see them find kindred souls in one another.

Well worth the time of fans of this series, but if you haven't read any of the previous books, you'll like it, but you'll probably also wonder what all the fuss is about in what appears to be a fairly standard romance.
If you are a Radclyffe fan this will not disappoint you. Intelligently written and well rounded. The character development is strong and consistent. If you are not a Radclyffe fan... WHY NOT??? You're missing some of the best lesbian fiction on the market.
The winds of fortune are fickle guides...and happiness or heartbreak may be the destination.

For Provincetown local Deo Camara, the only winds that have ever blown her way have been cold and lonely, and she doesn't expect things to improve when she is drawn into a family crisis against her will. Despite a decade of estrangement, however, Deo can't turn her back on the call of blood, no matter how high the price in heartache. Dr. Bonita Burgoyne is pleased with the changes she's made in her life...she has a rewarding new job and is looking forward to renovating the historic sea captain's house she has just purchased. She's content, and that's all she needs to be, or so she thinks until she hires Deo to head up the renovations. They have nothing in common except a shared legacy of betrayal by those they'd trusted the most, and an impossible attraction they would both prefer to ignore. Meanwhile, Bonita's new associate Dr. Tory King and her partner, Reese Conlon, must cope with the aftermath of the winds of war and the approaching fury of a very real gathering storm.

The fifth in the saga of the Provincetown Tales.
Rerations
< Winds of Fortune > < The Lonely Hearts Club > < In the Name of the Father > < Focus of Desire > < Word of Honor (Honor (Bold Strokes Books)) > freaks

< Ai No Kusabi The Space Between Volume 3: Nightmare (Yaoi Novel) > < Ai No Kusabi The Space Between Volume 2: Destiny (Yaoi Novel) > < Ai No Kusabi The Space Between Volume 1: Stranger (Yaoi Novel) > < Ai no Kusabi The Space Between Volume 4: Suggestion (Yaoi Novel) > < Caged Slave (Yaoi Novel) > < A Foreign Love Affair (Yaoi) > Reiko Yoshihara

price： 895
Digital Manga Publishing
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customer 's review
(Good middle of story volume)

(Loved the 2nd book in the series)

Of the subtitles for each of the volumes of Ai no Kusabi so far released in English, "Nightmare" seems to have been chosen most appropriately. This book is one long bad dream of the suffering and near insanity of the characters forced to be involved.

This volume chronicles the specific events of the three years that Riki spent as Iason Mink's "pet" that were previously unknown to readers of the original release of the novel or viewers of the anime OVA. Rieko Yoshihara added most of the contents of this particular volume for the five volume re-release of the story in 2004, which is probably why a number of reports about the book claim it has been "altered" from the original manuscript. This is perfectly all right with me, as I think this particular part of the story is not only very engaging, but also reveals details about societal secrets and character depth that might have otherwise been left unknown.

And if anyone is unhappy with there being "differences" between this release and the original one-volume printing of the novel in Japan so many years ago, I would offer up the fanservice to be found in this book as compensation. Indeed, if Yoshihara-sensei did not add this piece of the story we would never have been able to experience the graphic details of Iason and Riki's early physical encounters. The scenes are grotesque, graphic to the point of almost being psychologically damaging to the reader who is forced to bear witness to the abuse Riki suffers at the hands of his new "owner." Disturbing, yes, but in the same way that one can't help but look on at the carnage of a car accident as they pass by the scene.

Not only that, but we get a much better glimpse into the mind of Iason Mink than has been shown previously. At one point in the book he even bitterly admits the insanity of his uncontrollable obsession with Riki and laments to his Blondy friend, Raoul, that if he admitted his feelings for the slum mongel he would be laughed at.

Additionally, we get another piece of the puzzle of Riki's time at Guardian, particularly some more details about his relationship with the information peddler Robbie, "God's Grim Reaper," and what happened between them back then. Not the whole story yet, but essentially a "promise" for even more reveals in future volumes.

We also learn some startling facts about Katze and the origins of the "furniture" of Eos. As we are treated to the intricate details of the lives and fates of the "pets" of the Tanagura elite, we are also exposed to their marginalization of human beings, something that leaves more than just a bad taste in one's mouth. The terms "furniture" and "pets" to describe human beings, genetically engineered or not, can lead one to question the ways in which our own society uses and understands the same words, or at least it did for me. The "furniture" is an appliance that serves its master without question, and a "pet" is nothing more than an aesthetic status symbol, neither one having any value outside of those functions or freedom to choose its own path in life. Being presented with the real personality and feelings of the "furniture" tasked with Riki's care, Daryl, and his generally resigned "happiness in slavery" attitude, the horror of the Tanagura system becomes all the more apparent.

Kelly Quine again does a superb job with the translation. There were even fewer typographical errors in this volume than in previous ones. Still a few mistakes, but I'm very glad to see this kind of improvement in DMP's novel localizations and hope for more consistently high quality endeavors in the future. Katsumi Michihara's illustrations seemed to hit at their appropriate points in the story all the way through this time as well. I also noticed that DMP did away with the unnecessary extra two maps of Tanagura that were presented in the previous two volumes.

The book jumps back and forth along the timeline of the last four years of the story, so at times it is hard to follow. It is usually clear when the timeline shifts (and generally they are physically separated by an extra line spacing between paragraphs), but as each skip becomes incredibly engrossing in its own right, it is sometimes forgotten that what is being read is actually an "aside" to the events that are supposed to be taking place in the "active" scene of a particular chapter until it jumps back in and you are left a bit disoriented.

As a result, I would definitely not recommend starting this book series with this volume. I highly recommend reading the story as a whole, but starting with the first book and working your way through it to here. I would like to reiterate, however, to anyone looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, or the rainbow at the end of the storm, that this book is a true "tragedy," and if you are looking for a happy ending you are going to be seriously disappointed. However, if you are looking for an incredible story, within a rich universe that pulls you in and keeps you hanging to the very last page, I can't recommend Ai no Kusabi enough.
This is a very well written Science Fiction story and I highly recommend it. I loved the story line about the future world and the division between the classes. The Rikki is a wonderful character and is beautifully written. This is a yaoi story from Japen which means M/M but when you read that they live in an artificial world run by a computer, Venus and that only 10% of the population are female it makes sense.

This story is about people who hope for more and the elite who think nothing of them except what use they have for their amusement.

I can't wait for the next book in the series and if you are hesitant because the first book was hard to read then rest assured this book was much easier.

A Blondie takes a street mongrel as a pet?! The entire city buzzes with the scandal! However, Riki, ever the defiant pet, appears to be losing his master's interest. Is he on the verge of being abandoned? And will his pride survive?
Rerations
< Ai No Kusabi The Space Between Volume 3: Nightmare (Yaoi Novel) > < Ai No Kusabi The Space Between Volume 2: Destiny (Yaoi Novel) > < Ai No Kusabi The Space Between Volume 1: Stranger (Yaoi Novel) > < Ai no Kusabi The Space Between Volume 4: Suggestion (Yaoi Novel) > < Caged Slave (Yaoi Novel) > freaks

< Dog Style Volume 2 (Dog Style) > < I Want To Be Naughty > < Pet on Duty > < My Paranoid Next Door Neighbor (Yaoi) > < The Crimson Spell > < Scandalous Seiryo University Volume 2 (Scandalous Seiryo University) > Modoru Motori

price： 220
Media Blasters
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customer 's review
(And now for something completely different...)

(Disjointed and Disappointing)

(Dog Style)

(Great expectations but little return)

(Dog Style by Modoru Motoni)

This series is just a completely warped hunk of fun.

That is, if you like BL manga that runs to the iconoclastic, original, and dark-edged, and that features challenging characters and storylines as well as plenty of deranged humor. If your tastes run to the softer side of the spectrum--i.e., if you want romance, a more conventional art style, and sympathetic characters a la the works of Makoto Tateno, Youka Nitta, Rie Honami, etc.--then this book probably won't do it for you. But for those of us readers who relish non-standard plots and guys-acting-like-guys characterizations (as opposed to the usual BL guys-acting-like-girls sort), Motoni's work is just the thing. If you're into authors like Kazuma Kodaka (espc. her Hana to Ryuu/Sex Therapist side) or Kazuya Minekura (espc. Wild Adapter), then you're likely to dig this.

Dog Style is, moreover, the most accessible of Motoni's works. It's not as dark/violent as Shiikugakari Rika or as scattered/crack-ish as Poison Cherry Drive, but seems to take the best elements of both and wrap them in a high school story that's basically the anti-Gakuen Heaven. (I guess that would make it Gakuen Hell?) An added benefit is that she does a good job of conveying the schizo blend of angst, hilarity, hope, and frustration that for many people constitutes the high school experience.

And did I mention that it's fun? If the first scene showing Kana or the little four-panel where Teru reacts to Miki pulling out his stashed water bottle doesn't make you laugh, then you're definitely in the wrong place.

The translation's skillful and manages to capture the high school JD/yanki flavor of the dialogue, but it does result in something that's harsher in tone than the original and that makes Teru and Miki's characters seem a little more thuggish than they might have. But on balance I don't think it'll make that big a difference as to whether you'll enjoy the manga or not, which, judging from the reactions so far, seems to be more of an all-or-nothing thing in this instance than usual.

If, taking into consideration the above caveats, you think you might like this book, I'd urge you to buy it. It's a solid addition to the BL A-ranks.

And, finally, an open plea to Kitty Media: please please please use better paper? The art looks about ten times better when the book's not printed on groundwood...
I was looking forward to this title based on previous reviews, now I have to wonder if these people read the same manga I did! The characters lines were difficult to figure out, who was saying what? The story lacked anything a true yaoi fan desires. There was no real build up of sexual tension or emotion between the characters, nor any feeling other then apathy. There WAS smut, but even the sex scenes weren't satisfying, the main 'beautiful' character even complained that the sex hurt worse each time. What a let down! How can you get into something like that? Finally, no one else said it, but the art was terrible. The characters faces had impossibly wide mouths with puffy lips that all reminded me unrealistically of Gabrielle Anwar. Sure those lips look good on her, but not on all the characters in this book. Save yourself some $ and get Crimson Spell if you want smut with gorgeous characters and storyline, or Yellow if you want more in a series.
I find this story to be refreshing and a bit rough which is enjoyable(similar in someways to shounen manga) it isn't a girly romantic type yaoi like so many I have red before, and frankly I am hoping that they will both be switch hiters. The story is catchy and you find yourself falling in love with Teru and Miki. I hope kitty will continue to bring over more such manga and will license the second book in the series.
From the other reviews I thought this might be an interesting yaoi manga, and from the premise stated, well...that seemed a novel idea so I bought it. I was disappointed. The characters lines were confusing and very hard to determine who was saying what, the main characters seriously seemed to dislike each other without any underlying attraction, and specifically as a first volume there was not enough background explained about the characters to make you like or dislike them, or tell why they were doing this or that. It was just irritating, and after trying to read every word to see if any helpful insight would be given, I started flipping through the pages to see if ANYTHING interesting was going to happen.

Well, sure it did, after a passable chase scene, the two characters fell into a sexual collision, that though the drawings were good, still lacked passion or reason. The whole manga left me with a dissatisfied feeling, and certainly would not make me want to see anything more from the guys featured. Their personalities could have been more "fleshed" out, as well as the background of the other characters. Less monotony in repetition of the same issues "this guy is going out with this girl, I love him, thus I feel lonely" and the "you're a stray dog not a pet" line became downright annoying. Definitely could have been more positive interaction between Miki and Teru. I won't be adding this one to my library. And it's too bad when people rate your review as "not helpful" just because they liked the product and you didn't. That's not fair or accurate. Sorry if I like a good story line and consistency in anything I read whether its adult or not, and they obviously do not.
I have to read this manga two times one soon after the other to decide if I like it and i have to say yes, I like it.

Miki and Teru go to the same high school but Miki his older (and taller) of Teru. First time Teru sees Miki he is kissing a guy, who happens to be the older brother of Teru's best friend. And maybe also Teru is a bit in love with his best friend, or maybe he is only jelaous of his time with him, time that, since his best friend has a girlfriend, is very short. And when Teru discovers that also Miki has trouble with his best friend (the guy he was kissing) it seems natural and easy to hung out together. And from a joke and a stroke, the step to sex is short. But Teru has very few experience and the first (and second and third) time together is not very satisfying for Miki.

It's very strange, the story is not a continuum, and so you happen to finish a chapter thinking to continue the scene in the next one, and instead the setting is changed and the time elapses is wide. In this first manga (cause I hope this is only the first one and we will see more of this story), Teru and Miki has only the chance to meet and connect, but they haven't yet build a strong relationship...

The story, even if setting in an high school and with teen characters, a mix that usually led to a light and funny development, is instead pretty angst. For what we know, Teru and Miki don't have "real" problems, if not being young and uncertain of their future. And they are also having their first sexual experience, and maybe they are questioning what they really like in a partner. It's that time in life where you stop to go out with your best friend to see a girl/boy friend, but if it's you best friend you want as a boy friend, it could be a problem...

The art is good, linear and "pure", quite hard, but never cold. The sex is good, but not too much graphic.

I will see forward for the next volume in this series, also to know if Teru becomes a little more a "pet" instead of a "stray dog" and if he learns to kiss instead of bite...
After their fourth time together, Teru and Miki finally have sex good enough to melt them both. However, they're still stuck in a weird place... more than friends with benefits, but not quite lovers.
Rerations
< Dog Style Volume 2 (Dog Style) > < I Want To Be Naughty > < Pet on Duty > < My Paranoid Next Door Neighbor (Yaoi) > < The Crimson Spell > freaks

< She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders > < I'm Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted: A Memoir > < True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism--For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals > < She's Not the Man I Married: My Life with a Transgender Husband > < Wrapped In Blue: A Journey of Discovery > < Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity > Jennifer Finney Boylan

price： 478
Broadway(2004-08-10)
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customer 's review
(Somewhat Engaging book on the hardships of a Transsexual)

(Hard to Follow)

(A life in two genders - a poignant and painful rendering....)

(I read this book some time ago)

(Refreshing and eye opening)

I read this book in order to learn more about transsexuality after reading True Selves because a friend of mine recently came out and I was totally blown away. Ms Boylan tries her best to sort out her pros and cons of accepting who she is throughout the book that represents her life. She suppresses and tries to accept her identity as a Male from childhood to adulthood without much success. Even though she tells side stories of others she has met along the way I do not think Ms Boylan truly recognizes that she has a privilege over others like her because of the accepting community she lives in and her wealth. Since the book is also a little self obsessed at times I think is the reason I gave this product three stars.
While I appreciate the courage it must have taken the author to write this story of her life I found this book difficult to follow. It jumps around in time which in this particular case made it difficult for me to really gain a sense of what the author's journey entailed. If you are looking for a book that reads like a story versus an informative resource on transgendered individuals then this might be for you. Personally I was hoping for more of the latter.
A few years ago, I was perusing a beloved local bookstore when I came across this book. I don't usually gravitate towards non-fiction but I was intrigued when I read the jacket. At the time, I was taking Constitutional Law with a transgendered professor and had developed an interest in transexuality and transgendered rights (as an aside, my professor argued the first transgendered paternity suit in front of the CA Supreme Court!).

Anyway, I can't tell you how glad I am that I took a chance on this book!

The story is about Jennifer Finney Boylan's experience with transsexualism and how her struggle to embrace her true identity affects every aspect of her life and the people around her. Born a male (in a physical sense) and named "James," Jennifer recounts her journey towards becoming the woman she is today. Her story is often a painful one, particularly as Jennifer recounts the emotional turmoil that Grace (her wife) and her two children have had to endure as a result of Jennifer's decisions. However, Jennifer conveys her story with an incredible sense of humor and class and I often found myself reading her words and wanting to cry and laugh at the same time.

Jennifer's story does end in a complete surgical and hormonal transition so I would note that if you're looking for guidance on this subject, her very honest recounting of the experience may be helpful to you. I would like to say, however, that I did NOT get the sense that Jennifer believes that this type of transition is the answer for every transsexual but only that it was the right option for her.

Even if you've had no previous interest in gender studies or you don't think you have a reason to read this book, I implore you to consider doing so anyway. I was pleasantly surprised to note the considerable effect Jennifer's touching story had on me!

I was amazed how this book just took me into it. I read it very fast and before you knew it I was done. It is written in a very comfortable reading style. I have the other book that he has written so I will be interested to see if I feel the same about that one.
Boylan's memoir opens a dialog not only around transgendered issues, but for conversation about anyone who's ever felt isolated, like they didn't belong in their own skin. Recommend to just about anyone!

The provocative bestsellerShe’s Not Thereis the winning, utterly surprising story of a person changing genders. By turns hilarious and deeply moving, Jennifer Finney Boylan explores the territory that lies between men and women, examines changing friendships, and rejoices in the redeeming power of family. Told in Boylan’s fresh voice,She’s Not Thereis about a person bearing and finally revealing a complex secret. Through her clear eyes,She’s Not Thereprovides a new window on the confounding process of accepting our true selves.

“Probably no book I’ve read in recent years has made me so question my basic assumptions about both the centrality and the permeability of gender, and made me recognize myself in a situation I’ve never known and have never faced . . . The universality of the astonishingly uncommon: that’s the trick ofShe’s Not There. And with laughs, too. What a good book.”—Anna Quindlen, from the Introduction to the Book-of-the-Month-Club edition.

Rerations
< She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders > < I'm Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted: A Memoir > < True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism--For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals > < She's Not the Man I Married: My Life with a Transgender Husband > < Wrapped In Blue: A Journey of Discovery > freaks

< Giovanni's Room > < The Well of Loneliness: A 1920s Classic of Lesbian Fiction > < Another Country > < The Souls of Black Folk (Dover Thrift Editions) > < Go Tell It on the Mountain > < Stone Butch Blues: A Novel > James Baldwin

price： 280
Delta(2000-06-13)
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customer 's review
(I agree with everthing good about this book)

(Good Stuff Doesn't Age, It Matures)

(introspective, subtle, but passionate and full of drama)

(A Masterpiece)

(An affair of the heart threatened by society's "clutter and disorder")

I read this book about 10+ years ago. I was just going through my books looking for something to read during my commute. When I ran accross this book it was not about what I read 10 years ago it was just a feeling I got. I have started to read this book again and from the first page there was that same feeling again. The yearning and aching feeling of love forbidden and this need to turn page after page knowing that this is a loved that doomed from the onset, but hoping somehow there will happy ending.

Then you realize you are still in real world. I giving this book to my grandaughter.

Although advancing in its fifties, Giovanni's Room is a novel which does not get older, it only gets better. It still strikes the reader with the courage and opennes with which James Baldwin tackles his largely unspeakable (at the time of its writing) subject matter. The pains and tortures of search for sexual identity are rendered with real mastery and even if the ending may seem a bow to the demands of an age long gone, it only adds to the psychological truth of the novel. An absolute classic!
"Giovanni's Room", set in Paris of the 1950's, is a memorable study of a tormented soul of a young American, David. Narrated in the first person singular, this novel is deep and dark, making the reader feel the David's emotions and passions.

David, who moved to France like many young Americans after the World War II, to pursue the freedom within the artistic atmosphere and the traditions of the Old World, found in fact the side of himself he did not expect to uncover.

Starting the story at the point of total exhaustion, on the verge of madness, just about to leave the South of France for Paris again (and then, perhaps, finally to return to the States - although the ending is open in this respect) David recollects his relationship with Giovanni, an Italian barman whom he met on the night while searching for money to pay his hotel bill (or for another accommodation). When Hella, David's girlfriend, travels in Spain trying to organize her thoughts far from David and get to know herself better in solitude, David decides to ask Jacques, a man he knew casually, for money. Jacques invites him for dinner and then they end up going for a couple of drinks to the gay bar. Jacques is a friend of the owner, Guillaume, and they abandon themselves in a conversation, although Jacques clearly fancies the young barman. When two older men leave them alone, David and Giovanni immediately feel attracted to each other and by the morning they go together to Giovanni's room, where David subsequently moves. Guillaume, who gave Giovanni the job in hope to win the boy's heart, is very jealous; Jacques is also a bit upset, but both of them hope that the relationship won't last.

Well... the relationship does not last, and this is the information revealed at the very beginning of the novel. David is, all in all, a disagreeable character (another novel in which the main character is not likeable, yet evoking sympathy in the reader because of his complexity and misery, and certainly possessing some charm, which he uses without scruples), who acts egoistically and opportunistically, but also according to convention. By being selfish and cruel to those who love him, he destroys not only them, but also himself. He cannot accept his love for Giovanni, because he fights his gay tendencies (he cannot even think about himself as gay and always tries to distinguish himself from "old fairies" like Guillaume and Jacques), but when he finally gives in, it is too late to rescue the relationship. Here lies, for me, the universal message in the story: what happens if by our own silliness, mistake, carelessness, or hard-headedness, whatever, we lose the love of our life and, worse, have an utterly destructive influence on him or her?

Giovanni is a great character, he is a complete opposite of David - he follows his instincts to the point of abandoning himself in them, at the same time doing it completely unconsciously - he is convinced that he acts very rationally and has reasonable plans for the future. When David leaves him upon Hella's return to Paris, Giovanni loses all the grip onto reality and that leads to the tragedy.

Hella, the only significant female character in the novel (except marginal, although complex, Sue, who is another person in the collection of people used by David) is also very interesting - basically, David treats her exactly the same as he treats Giovanni, but she is much more down-to earth and with typical American self- control manages to get back on her feet.

The story takes place in Paris, the protagonist breathes the existentialis atmosphere, wandering in the narrow, old streets during the night. His desperation does not prevent him from perceiving the beauty of the city, but at the same time the city adds to his melancholy. In a different setting the story would undoubtedly be different, and so the novel seamlessly connects its time, place and plot.

James Baldwin created a remarkable novel, full of introspective, universal questions that never get outdated. He managed to write about the problems, which at his time were rather hidden and unspoken. Very subtle prose and concise form round up the list of "Giovanni's Room's" qualities. This is the first book by this author I have read and I will definitely try more.
Giovanni's Room is such a poignant, touching, and finely crafted novel that deals with homosexuality, love, and death in a way that one rarely finds in one. The characters, each and every single one of them, are as real as anybody today in the 21st century. The emotions described in the book are so real and vivid that the novel rarely reads like a novel. A touching story, sharp social commentary, and a very vivid view of what homosexuality was like back in the 1960's in Paris.
"Giovanni's Room" is unique among Baldwin's novels for its all-white cast of characters--a decision that, his letters revealed, worried Baldwin somewhat, fearing that his portrayals would not seem authentic. His concerns turned out to be baseless; both Giovanni and David are convincing characters whose magnetism and flawed idealism stand in sharp relief to the cynical, grimy atmosphere of the bars and rooms they inhabit.

David is engaged to be married when his fiancee, Hella, travels to Spain to "find out" what she wants from life--and from David. He then meets Giovanni in a Parisian bar and their fate is sealed as soon as they enter Giovanni's tiny, claustrophobic room and its "outlines of clutter and disorder." David's internal struggle begins immediately: "if I do not open the door at once and get out of here, I am lost. But I knew I could not open the door, I knew it was too late."

I've come to think of Baldwin's "Giovanni's Room" as the inverted (no pun intended) example of Forster's "Room with a View," the book it oddly and inexplicably reminds me of. Although Baldwin is tragic where Forster is comic, the impossible coupling of stalwart David and carefree Giovanni echo the equally improbable pair of straitlaced Lucy and bohemian George. And in each novel, the foreign setting strips away David's and Lucy's inhibitions while it enhances Giovanni's and George's forwardness.

Both books, too, deal with a typically nineteenth-century theme, pitting moral honesty and romantic love against what "proper" society expects of its members. David is expected to marry Hella, as Lucy is expected to marry Cecil, and the comic or tragic outcome of each novel is determined entirely by the sincerity of the choices made by its characters. In Baldwin's more modern version, however, the virtue of David and Giovanni's relationship and the (yes) innocence of their love cannot ultimately withstand the pressures of society and the strictures of David's upbringing, and, inexorably, the couple become as sullied as the "clutter and disorder" of Giovanni's room.
Set in the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence, a young man finds himself caught between desire and conventional morality. With a sharp, probing imagination, James Baldwin's now-classic narrative delves into the mystery of loving and creates a moving, highly controversial story of death and passion that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart.
Rerations
< Giovanni's Room > < The Well of Loneliness: A 1920s Classic of Lesbian Fiction > < Another Country > < The Souls of Black Folk (Dover Thrift Editions) > < Go Tell It on the Mountain > freaks

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