Giovanni's Room

"This book kept coming up as a source and a totem in other modern novels I was reading and so I wanted to see for myself why it held so much influence for other writers.

The book is so evocative of a lost time and place in history, and the characters tormented by their position outside of 'normal' society, it is full of emotional turmoil and the loss of love in so many ways. David's character and actions are not condoned, but he is the main voice that comes across, whereas the somehow untold stories of Giovanni and Hella would be of real interest, as they are both distant and enigmatic, portrayed as unknown and unknowable characters from David's tormented perspective.

Loved the angst and the despair of life that drips out of the book, it could only have been set in Paris." - Amazon Reviewer