Giovanni's Room - James Baldwin

Out of the 50 odd books I read this year, only a few will remain with me in memory over the years. This one will be one of such for its brilliance and class. Every thing about this book is mesmerizing ; his style of prose, the narrative, the conversations the sentences and the appropriate omissions and structuring of the book. May be a novel with a gay love theme was disturbing during its publication, about half a century ago, and that shock value is over and one will not gauge the book for that. This short novel about a 30 year old White American , currently living in Paris ( James Baldwin was in Paris during the writing and publication of this book) befriends and later fall in love with an Italian bartender. Its his complex and dangerous relationship,

David, living in Paris on the meagre amount of money sent by his father from USA, befriends Giovanni , a bartender in a gay bar while his girlfriend Halla was away in Spain on a vacation. Struggling for fund and was thrown out of his lodge for payment outstanding, David meets one of his friend Jacques with a dubious reputation ( an old man living alone but likes to keep friendship with young boys), to get some money. The duo later ends up in the Bar run by Guillaume, where he meets Giovanni an Italian bartender. The atmosphere, the absence of his girlfriend and some clever maneuver by his benefactor, the foursome, spends the entire evening and the next morning in company. Giovanni and David, later ended up in 'Giovanni's Room'( claustrophobic, unkempt, dour, and threatening according to David) and happen to spend the evening together in bed. Nowhere to go, David stays back in Giovanni's room and the next couple of months they grow their intimate relationship and affection until the return of his girlfriend. Now torn between the love for his girl and the affection and the relationship with Giovanni, David had to make his choice. David's departure and the lose of his job at Gillaume makes Giovanni restless, takes him back to Jacques. The tale gets worst after the death of Gillaume by the hand of Giovanni , who was later arrested and sentenced to death. Tormented with guilt, David break away from Hella follows Giovanni through the trial and the place of his final sentence. We leave David in despair, in South France, at the town of the sentence, narrating the tale in "the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life".

David was not gay, except for an early days recollection of an experience with his classmate during school days. He had a steady relationship with his American girlfriend, until her travel to Spain on contemplating their marriage and future. His encounter with Giovanni was accidental and the sexual relationship thence has not been a result of his hidden desire. Even after the return of his girlfriend, he continued his normal living with his girlfriend. It wasn't the sexual desire that attracted him to Giovanni. It is something beyond that and David fails to express or really understand the reasons. He find himself responsible for all that has happened to Giovanni and wanted to redeem himself from the guilt.

A theme on gay love affair and extremely sensual in nature, James Baldwin does a phenomenal job of balancing his writing with extreme control. For me this reading was more rewarded as compared to Go Tell it on the Mountains. There seems to be the perfect coordination between the length of the book, the sentences, the paragraphs and conversations. Some of the paragraphs were so brilliant and I had to read them again and again. At no point, this was vulgar or repulsive ( most of the sex writing what I read of late are so bad), and the emotional side of the relationship is dealt with sublime quality by this marvellous writer. Great book.

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Giovanni's Room ( 1956 )

James Baldwin

Penguin Modern Classics

159 Pages
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Go Tell It On The Mountain - James Baldwin

"The Word was fulfilled one morning, before she was awake. Many of the stories her mother told meant nothing to Florence; she knew them for what they were, tales told by an old black woman in a cabin in the evening to distract her children from cold and hunger. But the story of this day she was never to forget; it was a day for which she lived. There was a great running and shouting, said her mother, and as she opened her eyes to the light of that day, so bright and cold, she was certain that the judgement trumpet had sounded. Bathsheba shouted ," Rise up , rise up , Sister Rachel, and see God's deliverance ! He has brought us out of Egypt, just like he promised, and we are free at last !'

Slavery is banned, and the back people are 'liberated'.  However, there is no change in their living condition. The community is still isolated and have their own world of living. The white man is still an evil. Their livelihood is still depended on the work provided by the white folks. The year is 1935, and it is half a century past the the declaration and the situation is not improved greatly. Some of the people moved up ( those subject of this novel), migrating from the hard affected South to the 'greener pastures' of the North, without any great difference.

I had not heard his name until recently and after reading this book, I will definitely put him along with the other Black American Writers I have read. This book was published in 1953, his first book. Spanning over a day and a night mass, this emotional, spiritual and partly gospel book takes us through the emotional liberation of three elders and a spiritual awakening of the young John Grimes. John Grimes,  goes through the spiritual baptism on a Saturday night mass, lasting the whole night. The atmosphere is so powerful that his parents and aunt who kneel next to him in the prayer, goes through the process of redemption. Their sinful(?) pasts, their history hidden beneath the surface for a long time and their internal anger and fear, all come out of the closet. One after other they recounts and re-validate their life against the spiritual and moral measures of the church and goes through the process of cleansing. John Grimes, on whose 14th birthday, when the mass is organised, collapses at the end and goes through delirious fits and visions. However, he seeks the help of the God to take him through and emerge as blessed.

The crux of the narrative is the second part which belongs to Gabriel, Elizabeth and Florence. Florence, is the first to rebel the household. Decided to leave the house and ailing mother in custody of Gabriel, she moves to New York. While her life hasn't been all that great, she maintains her contact with the family. Gabriel, after the death of the mother was living with Deborah, elder to him, who in her younger ages was raped by a group of white men, was his emotional and moral support, through the troubled years. After the death of his wife he moves to New York, and marry Elizabeth, who already have a son from Richard. Richard, a nice young man was accused falsely, commits suicide on his return from the Police. As their life is , the relationship is also as fragile, as you see in the first part. Gabriel, always angry make his family suffers from his moods. John, who carry a perpetual hatred for his step-father. Gabriel's own son in Elizabeth, Roy, constantly gets to fistfights at the neighbourhood and comeback with stab injuries. Gabriel himself had a son in one of the young lady, where he used to work. But his own prejudice and the circumstances, prevent him to accept them into his life, sending the pregnant lady away to the north and to eventual death.

The final pages, rich and complex in narrative is on John going through his trance. Baldwin uses some fantastic writing here as John experiences divine vision and prophetic words, and seeking the help of this friends and dears, he comes out successfully. However, as the mass ended, and the tears dried from reconciliation with the God, they return back to their lives, to their fragile relationships, to the world of irony and poverty.

There is a constant undercurrent of 'rage'. This rage is so into their daily system, that it comes out against their own folks, on themselves. Some of the folks turns anti social element, while the rest take refuge in the Jesus. The spurting of churches and masses through out the black community is an effort to direct this towards prayers. However, there is no escape. The constant struggle between the temptation and redemption is route in their culture. Every individual fights this battle. The self doubt on sinning, the inability to fight the temptation ( both sexual and social ) , the rage within, and the redemption , all goes hand in hand. On this day of salvation, every one has to goes through the torments of their sins. Everyone of them have to re-live their life in front of the altar. 

James Baldwin writes a profound story. Very powerful and hard. Without being vocal and rough and violent, he is able to get the portray the anger very effectively. The language is beautiful, the style and structure is not of a novice. There are many references to the ancient text and situations, and my limited understanding of those, might have hampered by reading to a certain extent.

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Go Tell in on the Mountain ( 1953 )

James Baldwin

Penguin Modern Classics

256 Pages

Rs350

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