
Giovanni's Room
A Novel (Vintage International)
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Narrated by:
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Matt Bomer
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Kevin Young
About this listen
James Baldwin's groundbreaking novel with a new introduction.
Giovanni's Room is set in the Paris of the 1950s, where a young American expatriate finds himself caught between his repressed desires and conventional morality. David has just proposed marriage to his American girlfriend, but while she is away on a trip he becomes involved in a doomed affair with a bartender named Giovanni. With sharp, probing insight, James Baldwin's classic narrative delves into the mystery of love and tells a deeply moving story that reveals the unspoken complexities of the human heart.
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Critic reviews
"If Van Gogh was our 19th-century artist-saint, James Baldwin is our 20th-century one."—Michael Ondaatje
"A young American involved with both a woman and a man...Baldwin writes of these matters with unusual candor and yet with such dignity and intensity."—The New York Times
"Absorbing...[with] immediate emotional impact."—The Washington Post
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Story
Jen and Riley have been best friends since kindergarten. As adults, they remain as close as sisters, though their lives have taken different directions. Jen married young, and after years of trying, is finally pregnant. Riley pursued her childhood dream of becoming a television journalist and is poised to become one of the first Black female anchors of the top news channel in their hometown of Philadelphia. But the deep bond they share is severely tested when Jen’s husband, a city police officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager.
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These Author’s UNDERSTOOD the assignment!
- By Queenwdg on 10-25-21
By: Christine Pride, and others
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Little and Often
- A Memoir
- By: Trent Preszler
- Narrated by: Matt Bomer
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Trent Preszler thought he was living the life he always wanted, with a job at a winery and a seaside Long Island home, when he was called back to the life he left behind. After years of estrangement, his cancer-stricken father had invited him to South Dakota for Thanksgiving. It would be the last time he saw his father alive. Preszler’s only inheritance was a beat-up wooden toolbox that had belonged to his father, who was a cattle rancher, rodeo champion, and Vietnam War Bronze Star Medal recipient. This family heirloom befuddled Preszler.
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So good
- By Trevor Stanco on 04-28-21
By: Trent Preszler
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Fools Crow
- By: James Welch, Thomas McGuane
- Narrated by: Darrell Dennis
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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The year is 1870, and Fool's Crow, so called after he killed the chief of the Crows during a raid, has a vision at the annual Sun Dance ceremony. The young warrior sees the end of the Indian way of life and the choice that must be made: resistance or humiliating accommodation.
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Great book
- By matt on 06-26-21
By: James Welch, and others
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Piranesi
- By: Susanna Clarke
- Narrated by: Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Piranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has. In his notebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: the labyrinth of halls, the thousands upon thousands of statues, the tides that thunder up staircases, the clouds that move in slow procession through the upper halls. On Tuesdays and Fridays Piranesi sees his friend, the Other. At other times he brings tributes of food to the Dead. But mostly, he is alone.
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Fascinating Social Study
- By Henry V on 02-26-21
By: Susanna Clarke
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Hell of a Book
- A Novel
- By: Jason Mott
- Narrated by: JD Jackson, Ronald Peet
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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In Jason Mott’s Hell of a Book, a Black author sets out on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his bestselling novel. That storyline drives Hell of a Book and is the scaffolding of something much larger and more urgent: Mott’s novel also tells the story of Soot, a young Black boy living in a rural town in the recent past, and The Kid, a possibly imaginary child who appears to the author on his tour.
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Four Stars for Content, One More for...
- By Paul Frandano on 08-12-21
By: Jason Mott
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The Editor
- By: Steven Rowley
- Narrated by: Michael Urie
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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After years of trying to make it as a writer in 1990s New York City, James Smale finally sells his novel to an editor at a major publishing house: none other than Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Jackie - or Mrs. Onassis, as she's known in the office - has fallen in love with James' candidly autobiographical novel, one that exposes his own dysfunctional family. But when the book's forthcoming publication threatens to unravel already fragile relationships, both within his family and with his partner, James finds that he can't bring himself to finish the manuscript.
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Great story
- By Amazon Customer on 04-18-19
By: Steven Rowley
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The First Bad Man
- A Novel
- By: Miranda July
- Narrated by: Miranda July
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is Cheryl, a tightly-wound, vulnerable woman who lives alone, with a perpetual lump in her throat. She is haunted by a baby boy she met when she was six, who sometimes recurs as other people's babies. Cheryl is also obsessed with Phillip, a philandering board member at the women's self-defense nonprofit where she works. She believes they've been making love for many lifetimes, though they have yet to consummate in this one.
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Yes, yes, yes.
- By Jo on 02-03-15
By: Miranda July
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The History of Sound
- Stories
- By: Ben Shattuck
- Narrated by: Ben Shattuck, Zachary Chastain, Paul Mescal, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In twelve luminous stories set across three centuries, The History of Sound examines the unexpected ways the past returns to us and how love and loss are entwined and transformed over generations. In Ben Shattuck's ingenious collection, each story has a companion story, which contains a revelation about the previous, paired story. Mysteries and murders are revealed, history is refracted, and deep emotional connections are woven through characters and families.
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Gorgeous written connected stories
- By Briana R. on 07-22-24
By: Ben Shattuck
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Dust Child
- By: Que Mai Phan Nguyen
- Narrated by: Quyen Ngo
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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From the internationally bestselling author of The Mountains Sing, a propulsive and moving tale of wartime love, family, and loss, as an American GI, two Vietnamese bargirls, and an Amerasian man are forced to make decisions during and after the Việt Nam War that will reverberate throughout each other’s lives.
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Beautiful and moving
- By TPT on 06-17-23
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Spring Strings
- By: Lily Morton
- Narrated by: Joel Leslie
- Length: 4 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Malachi Booth is a supermodel. He’s used to moving about the world, sleeping with whoever takes his fancy, and watching the money roll in. The last place he expects to find himself is on a run-down farm in Cornwall, but a bad bout of bronchitis means that he’s stuck there. The only compensation for this dismal state of affairs is that the farmer is very good looking, even if he’s the grumpiest person that Malachi has ever met.
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Joel and Lily are perfection
- By ElizaMac on 12-03-22
By: Lily Morton
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Revolutionary Suicide
- By: Huey P. Newton, Fredrika Newton - introduction
- Narrated by: C.T. Hayes, Fredrika Newton
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Tracing the birth of a revolutionary, Huey P. Newton's famous and oft-quoted autobiography is as much a manifesto as a portrait of the inner circle of America's Black Panther Party. From Newton's impoverished childhood on the streets of Oakland to his adolescence and struggles with the system, from his role in the Black Panthers to his solitary confinement in the Alameda County Jail, Revolutionary Suicide is unrepentant and thought-provoking in its portrayal of inspired radicalism.
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Very relevant to the current 21st century American historical moment
- By Adam on 04-03-25
By: Huey P. Newton, and others
What listeners say about Giovanni's Room
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Donna Kearns
- 03-22-25
Heartbreaking
One hundred years ago and so little has changed. I want to read it again and savor the language
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- Anonymous User
- 04-01-25
beautiful read
this book was so eloquently written and is one of his best pieces of work
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- Michael
- 01-02-25
Beautiful language and pacing - I couldn’t stop till it was done
This is a beautiful book, written in 1956. Never before have I understood the strength of desire and the impossible place society demands of us.
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- JCTHIEM
- 09-09-24
Finally got to it.
This has been in my wishlist for quite some time. I held off as many books from this era, especially those centered around love and relationships I find daunting to read. To my surprise I found this quite good. Having lived in Europe for a number of years I found the setting quite familiar and relatable. Characters came to life as they though they could be contemporary characters for the most part. given the books historical notoriety in the community I'm very pleased it's aged as well as it has.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jennifer Knox
- 01-04-25
Heartbreaking
For this book to be nearly 70 years old, a lot of these problems are still relevant to this day. Such a heartbreaking and tragic story. Hats off to Baldwin!
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- Melissa Miles
- 02-24-25
Metaphor
James Baldwin does a remarkable job in creating metaphors throughout this saga of homo and heterosexuality. Powerful book.
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- Charisse Paradiso
- 09-07-24
Outstanding Narration
Matt Bomer's range of talent is evident in every piece of art of which he takes part. " Giovanni's Room" is no exception. His narration transports one into the story. Bien joué.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 02-02-25
Masterpiece
Very well written, poetic masterpiece of literature! James Baldwin writes in a way that is so beautifully constructed that it makes reader/listener fall in love with the very words and the characters. The book was ahead of its time and therefore one almost forgets the era in which it was actually written. It feels so contemporary that one forgets just how revolutionary it actually was! His positive and unapologetic dipiction of gay love is enriching and powerful. A must read or listen! Bravo James Baldwin!🎉🏳️🌈
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- Joann Gilles
- 01-28-25
The production felt like listening to dramatic radio. Thoroughly enjoyable. Baldwin’s writing is beautiful.
Felt a little dated, but, of course it is of another time. Things have changed so much.
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- Anonymous User
- 03-29-25
Out of this world
A great reading
A brief and powerful novel
I think it’s my favorite book ever
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