Hay Festival February Book Club – Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

Yassmin Abdel-Magied and Colm Tóibín talk to Heather Marks

 – Free Online

Join our expert panel of readers – broadcaster Yassmin Abdel-Magied, novelist Colm Tóibín and Words of Colour creative producer Helen Marks – as they discuss James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, the now-classic story of a fated love triangle that explores the conflicts between desire, conventional morality and sexual identity.

Further reading

Honoring James Baldwin as more than a legend, New York Times
James Baldwin, the man who wrote like a preacher testifying to all humanity, The New European

About the author

One of the most important American writers of the twentieth century, James Baldwin’s novels primarily address issues of race, class and sexual inequality, including Giovanni’s Room which was extremely controversial in its representation of gay relationships. His other novels include Go Tell it on the Mountain, Notes of a Native Son and Another Country.

About Hay Festival Book Club

Timeless titles to offer you a break from the day to day. Can't decide what to read next? Follow your curiosity and join Hay Festival on a journey to imagine the world anew through great literature. Unconstrained by genre or form these are our monthly picks of great books worth reading (or re-reading) right now.

Throughout the month, we'll share interesting links and articles relating to our selection on social media using #HFBookClub and invite you all to get involved with your questions and comments. Each selection will also be marked with a free online event.

If you'd like to recommend a book for consideration, get in touch via bookclub@hayfestival.org.

Happy reading!

Hay Festival February Book Club – Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
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Buy the book for this event

Giovanni's Room

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 fiancée 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 fiancée 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.

Price: £9.99