Revisiting ‘Giovanni's Room’

NPR's Book of the Day

NPR

Arts, Books

4.2 • 670 Ratings

🗓️ 15 November 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

James Baldwin’s recent centennial birthday allowed us to discuss one of his most celebrated novels, Giovanni’s Room. Andrew Limbong and B. A. Parker are joined by NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour’s Glen Weldon, examining the story of three lovers, chasing connection, love, and acceptance in 1950s Paris. Special guest Garth Greenwell also drops by to share how Giovanni’s Room made an impact on his work.

Glen’s Recommendation: ‘Florenzer’ by Phil Melanson

Parker’s Recommendation: ‘The Stranger’ by Albert Camus

Andrew’s Recommendation: ‘The Sun Also Rises’ by Ernest Hemingway

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Isn't it great when something that's in the literary canon is actually, you know, it's important.
0:04.3	It's groundbreaking.
0:05.2	It's also good.
0:06.1	Isn't that fun when that happens?
0:08.3	You're listening to Books We've Loved from NPR.
0:11.1	The book show where we reread old favorites and tell you why they still matter today.
0:16.4	I'm Andrew Limbaugh.
0:17.7	And I'm B.A. Parker.
0:26.8	Hi, Andrew. How you doing? I'm super stoked about today.
0:31.9	Yeah, yeah. Why? What's that? Well, we're reading a book that I never have gotten to read before.
0:37.3	And it's something that was really, like, hyping myself, really excited to read because I, you know, want to get in the know. When you told me that you hadn't read this before, I was like, wow, that's a twist. I didn't see that one coming. It has eluded me, and this was the perfect time to finally read it. But first, we'd like to introduce our guest. Glenn Weldon, a host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour. Hey, Glenn.
0:54.4	Hey, guys.
0:55.4	Great to be here.
0:56.3	All right.
0:56.6	So, the book that we've been reading is James Baldwin's Giovanni's room.
1:05.0	Uh-huh.
1:05.5	Now, before we get into the synopsis, I want to give a quick content warning that this book and our conversation will discuss sex.
1:13.5	All right?
1:14.2	All right.
1:14.7	Cool.
1:15.5	Now, it is the second novel by James Baldwin, released in 1956.
1:20.4	It's the story of a young American man living in Paris who reminisces about his relationship with an Italian bartender named Giovanni,
	...

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