Giovanni's Room

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'. Baldwin's ground-breaking second novel, which established him as one of the great American writers of his time.

David, a young American in 1950s Paris, is waiting for his fiancee to return from vacation in Spain. But when he meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman, the two men are drawn into an intense affair. After three months David's fiancee returns and, denying his true nature, he rejects Giovanni for a 'safe' future as a married man. His decision eventually brings tragedy.

Filled with passion, regret and longing, this story of a fated love triangle has become a landmark of gay writing. James Baldwin caused outrage as a black author writing about white homosexuals, yet for him the issues of race, sexuality and personal freedom were eternally intertwined.

'Exquisite... a feat of fire-breathing, imaginative daring' - Guardian * 'Excruciating beauty' - San Francisco Chronicle * 'Audacious... remarkable...elegant and courageous' - Caryl Phillips