Giovanni's Room

 Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (1956) 192 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Libby narrated by Matt Bomer. It included an Introduction by poet Kevin Young that provided a lot of context. In a not-quite chronological narrative we meet David, a white American, having a "gap year" in Paris. There are conventional expectations back home and he is engaged to a young woman, but she is spending time away from him in Spain. David has a passionate affair with Giovanni, an Italian working in a bar in Paris. The two young men become roommates, but through self-denial and homophobia, David cannot admit that he is gay. When his fiancé joins him some sexist views come to light and a murder adds tension to the situation. The mysteries of the human heart are brilliantly explored by Baldwin.  

When the Harvest Comes

When the Harvest Comes by Denne Michele Norris, 304 pages

Davis is determined have a beautiful wedding and married life with Everett, despite the fact that his family is absent and Everett's Kennedy-esque white family doesn't necessarily understand their mixed-race relationship. Davis' religious father never approved of his lifestyle as a gay man, but when Davis learns during the reception that his father was killed in a car accident, he's unfortunately starting out his married life struggling to deal with his complex feelings for the man who judged harshly (often physically) but also supported Davis' burgeoning career as a concert violinist.

Families are complex, and this is a serious look at one person's struggle to define who they are in the shadow of a traumatic and strained upbringing. This is by no means a cheerful story, though it is perhaps a bit hopeful in the end? There's definitely love, though how it's expressed and how it's received are definitely in conflict at times.

Flamer

 Flamer by Mike Curato, 366 pages.

I read this frequently banned graphic novel for banned books weeks, and have been extremely slow getting around to actually writing about it. Which wasn't a problem, because Byron wrote his review in a timely manner and I completely agree with pretty much everything he said! The graphic novel was sometimes a little crude for me (it seems boy scout camp has a very different atmosphere than girl scout camp), but I overall found it to be an extremely powerful story. I especially found Curato's use of bright pops of fiery color to be very effective. This is a powerful story of feeling othered in adolescence, and I definitely think it could do plenty of young people a lot of good.

Flamer

 Flamer by Mike Curato (2020) 366 pages

This past week was Banned Book Week. I read Flamer over the weekend. This graphic novel is one of the books most often challenged in recent years. It is fictional, set in the 1990s, but semi-autobiographical. I loved the art, which is mostly in black and white with yellow, orange, and red highlighting certain things. Aiden is on a camping trip with his scout troop in the summer between middle school and high school. He is anxious about switching from Catholic school to a Public school. The symbolism of flames from campfires to X-Men Jean Grey's Phoenix to passionate emotions are so layered and deeply textured. Boys of this age can be rude and crude. The story deals with homosexuality, bullying, Catholicism, and attempted suicide. It explores all this very sensitively and honestly. I give it 5 out of 5 stars, and it should definitely be read by more people rather than be restricted. Parents do have the responsibility to monitor what their children read and discuss issues with them. The problem is when one group of parents try to make choices for all other readers.

The Love & Lies of Rukshana Ali

 The Love and Lies of Rukshana Ali by Sabina Khan, 336 pages.

Rukshana Ali is seventeen and trying desperately to balance the life she wants for herself with the life that would make her semi-conservative Muslim parents happy. But soon everything will be better, when she gets a little space on her own to be with her secret girlfriend and study engineering at CalTech. Everything explodes when her mother catches Rukshana kissing her girlfriend and goes ballistic, along with her normally very even-tempered father. Soon Rukshana is whisked away with her parents to their family in Bangladesh, where being gay is dangerous in addition to unacceptable (like it is in the Bangladeshi community back home in Seattle), and where they will stay until an arranged marriage is settled and their daughter is no longer "sick."

This book does a phenomenal job truly acknowledging how complicated Rukshana's existence is. She is very proud of her heritage, and she loves Bangladeshi culture and her family. She even cherishes visits to Bangladesh (with the major exception of current events). But at the same time the book does not shy away from acknowledging the huge problems in Bangladeshi culture, which has problems in the same way any culture has problems.

Mostly though, this book will break your heart. It is told in first person and I found, especially in the whole second half, my heart breaking for Rukshana and the things she was going through. It feels very emotionally honest, even if there's a small degree of suspension of disbelief in the plot. I will say, on a more positive note, the conclusion of the book did a good job putting my heart back together again. Definitely a good read if you're in for an emotional time.