Giovanni's Room (1956), James Baldwin's second novel, is a masterpiece of narrative composition and constituted a literal and metaphorical coming out for the young author, although Baldwin had already indicated his interest in the profound connection between race and sexuality in his successful novelistic debut, the autobiographical, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953). Giovanni's Room is narrated introspectively and retrospectively in the first person by a young, white American named David, who is trying to find himself in post-World War II France. It follows David's exploits in Paris, where he keeps company with the Saint-Germain crowd of homosexuals, while his official American fiancée, Hella, is traveling in

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Published 13 June 2003

Citation: Zaborowska, Magdalena J.. "Giovanni's Room". The Literary Encyclopedia. 13 June 2003.
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4964, accessed 20 November 2009.]