Punchblog430

Here are some reading questions to help you think about the novel as you read it.

1. Interestingly, Giovanni’s Room is the only one of Baldwin’s novels without an African American character, even though it has autobiographical connections (Giovanni is based on a young Swiss man Baldwin himself met in Paris, Lucien Happersberger). Do you think this is significant for the topic of the novel, or not? Why or why not?
2. What are the main points of crisis for the narrator (David) as he comes to terms with his own homosexuality—what is he most conflicted about? Think not only about his own desires and feelings (Joey, Giovanni) but also the role other characters such as Jacques, Guillaume, his father, Hella, and others play as embodiments of certain fears and conflicts in David. Make sure to mark passages that seem particularly important.
3. In the 19^th-century and early 20^th-century texts, we talked about the Hellenizing discourse of beauty (Greek culture and homosexuality as a haven for imagining and beautifying queerness). There are some moments of great beauty in this text (language, imagery). What are some of them, for you? Why and how do they strike you as beautiful? Are these moments related to sexuality?
4. What are some blatantly homophobic passages, and how are they related to David’s development in the novel? What purpose do they serve? Make sure you find at least two good examples.
5. There are some interesting passages about being an American (as opposed to being French, Italian, etc.). Pay some attention to these. What relation do they have to the main themes of the novel, homosexuality and coming of age?
6. Think about the main metaphor of the title: Giovanni’s room. What symbolic role might this room play in the novel? How does this “room” relate to another main theme of the novel, that of being/coming/being away from/making a “home”?
7. What other largely symbolic themes and images do you find in this novel, especially related to water and to stagnation/inaction/emptiness? How might these be connected to the overall themes of a search for identity, self-denial, and the notion of “home”?
8. What is Hella’s role, overall? Would it be a stretch to compare hers to Sibyl Vane’s in The Picture of Dorian Gray? How does/doesn’t the analogy work?
9. What is the role of class?
10. What is the role of aging/aged gay men, especially Jacques and Guillaume, especially in relation to the young men they meet and woo? What gaps and hierarchies does that reveal within the gay male community, as it’s being depicted here? What does all this have to do with the crime that happens later in the novel?
11. Overall, what sorts of contribution has Baldwin made to the developments of queer literature, as we have traced it in this course so far? How does it reveal both a new step (progress) in depicting homosexuality in literature, and carry the burden of queer literature’s past?
12. How does this novel address transgression and taboo (to follow up on our discussion of that with the Tim Dean article last week)?
13. What do you personally think of the ending of this book? What “lessons” do you think readers could possibly take away from it?

The Oldest & Very Best LGBTQ & Feminist Bookstore in the Country

We pride ourselves on being a unique and friendly neighbourhood store that has something for everyone! While we continue to be your #1 source for new and lightly used LGBTQ fiction & non-fiction, we have expanded our selection to include: music, artwork, comics, Grussvom Krampus, Clothing, and Much Much More!

• Giovanni’s Room Questions and Answers. The Question and Answer section for Giovanni’s Room is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Ask Your Own Question.
• Giovanni's Room. Giovanni lives in a small room on the outskirts of Paris. Formerly a maid's room, it can barely hold two people, let alone the detritus of Giovanni's old life. With nowhere else to stay, David moves in just hours after they meet. At first, the small room.

Here are some reading questions to help you think about the novel as you read it. Interestingly, Giovanni’s Room is the only one of Baldwin’s novels without an African American character, even though it has autobiographical connections (Giovanni is based on a young Swiss man Baldwin himself met in Paris, Lucien Happersberger).

Giovanni’s Room, was founded in 1973. Paralleling the growth of Philadelphia’s “out” community and the expansion of publishing in its subject areas, the store has doubled three times from its beginning on South Street to its present two buildings (one a double trinity from the 1820s, the other a mom-and-pop store & house from the 1880s) on the corner of South 12th and Pine Streets.

Giovanni’s Room is the traditional place from which to begin your visit to gay and lesbian Philadelphia. Its comfortable atmosphere in the middle of Center City, its maps, guides, and free advice anticipate a traveler’s needs. You are sure to see books you have never seen before too. Giovanni’s Room is special to Philadelphia and a comfortable place to start your visit to this beautiful, old city. With 7,000 titles on the shelves and a data base of more than 48,000 titles in our specialties, Giovanni’s Room stocks thousands more lesbian and gay books than the biggest superstore. The store’s window displays create a street presence for LGBTers that’s rare in any city. Crossing the store’s threshold has had an extraordinary symbolic significance for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people coming out. Once inside, those people are greeted by an experienced, knowledgeable, and particularly friendly staff.

Giovanni 27s Roomba

Similarly the store has special benefit for out-of-town visitors, people interested in the full range of gay and lesbian literature. More gay and lesbian lovers have met at Giovanni’s Room than at any other area store. If you can get a staff member of the store to kiss you, then you will be in the direct succession of Walt Whitman’s kiss, which flows from Walt to Edward Carpenter to E.M. Forster to Allen Ginsberg to Bern Boyle, one of the founders of Giovanni’s Room.

Giovanni 27s Rooms

After 41 years of serving the LGBT community in Philadelphia, the store closed on May 17, 2014. Soon after, it was announced that Philly AIDS Thrift signed a two-year agreement to become the proprietor of Giovanni’s Room. The new venture which is called PhillyAIDSThrift@Giovanni’s Room will continue to sell LGBTQ books–both new and used–as well as clothing, bric a brac, housewares and art. On May 1st, 2018, Philadelphia AIDS Thrift purchased the business and building from the former owner, thus securing the legacy of Giovanni’s Room for future generations.