Penguin Great Loves Giovannis Room

When David meets the sensual Giovanni in a bohemian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But his girlfriend's return to Paris destroys everything. Unable to admit to the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened - while Giovanni's life descends into tragedy. This book introduces love's fascinating possibilities and extremities. Baldwin's ground-breaking second novel, which established him as one of the great American writers of his time 'Audacious... remarkable... elegant and courageous' Caryl Phillips 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 who he is, he rejects Giovanni for a 'safe' future as a married man. It is a decision that will bring tragedy. 'Exquisite, a feat of fire-breathing, imaginative daring' Guardian 'Gorgeous, fearless, tempered by dark knowledge and pain ... the greatest American prose stylist of his generation' Colm Tóibín 'A layered exploration of queer desire ... It is electric' Hilton Als