Lifestyle
If I Had Believed the Universe Was Giving Me Signs, It Gave Me Signs, So I Read James Baldwin’s ‘Giovanni’s Room’
A columnist reflects on reading James Baldwin’s 1956 novel 'Giovanni’s Room' after her son and a friend prompted her to revisit literary classics. The story follows David, an American expat in Paris who struggles with his attraction to men while involved with Hella, and later meets Giovanni, an Italian bartender. The author notes that the book remains poignant due to its themes of loneliness and queer shame, which she observes are still prevalent today. Inspired by this experience, she purchased ten classic books for 70 euros at a secondhand shop in Amsterdam with her son, feeling renewed enthusiasm for lifelong reading.
Ozetta summarises; the reporting is the newsroom's