Writing Styles and Giovanni's Room 

I just want to get ahead of all the comments asking me where I was in 2021: I was sick. I have an autoimmune disorder that put me out-of-commission for most of the year and wasn’t able to work on the video. I’m much better now and have several ideas in the works for this year. So I apologise if this video isn’t worth the long wait, but just know that the wait was entirely out of my control this time. Sorry, and I hope you enjoy the video.

It now dawns on me my brother has been reading James Baldwin, and not Alec Baldwin. Everything he's said about the writing style up to this point now makes a heck of a lot more sense.

LET’S GOOOOOOO!

These close readings are so much more useful than the writing course I did at uni 😅

When they said he was quick and dark I thought they meant a quick thinker with a dark sense of humor

I love the passage as not only an explanation of how he treats Giovanni later on, but how he treats every other character. Essentially, to David other people serve as tools for his own character development and no more, he is using them to understand himself or serve a purpose in his life but the connections are shallow as he doesn't truly care for them as individuals. He only cares for them in the aspect of how they fit into his life and what they do for him (in a way I think this aspect is present in all of us to varying degrees as much as most people would be reluctant to admit it). Every person he remembers in the story he uses in this way, as a way to understand himself. And the way in which he sees the parallels between his treatment of Joey and Giovanni but is seemingly oblivious to this pattern in relation to others in his life is fascinating. He uses Jacques for money but also in order to understand his disgust at who he fears he could become if he continues along life in the alternative lifestyle that Paris offers if he stays with Giovanni (or at least if he continues to indulge in that aspect of himself, I think David clearly understands that he could never last with Giovanni and that the relationship is a shallow one but Giovanni and Hella are stand ins to represent the two paths in life he can take: heteronormativity or Bohemia). He uses Hella as a way to explore how he feels trying on the coat of heteronormativity and feels the most at ease during the relationship as it is easy and he doesn't fear what he will become, but at the end of the novel it becomes clear that he is also using her as a safety blanket to avoid the other side of himself and pretend it doesn't exist, she's a curtain he's pulling over the mirror to avoid seeing himself. And it doesn't work. Giovanni similarly offers a taste of the lifestyle he is drawn towards, albeit a safe one as Giovanni is clearly more vulnerable than he is and therefore he can experiment without hurting himself regardless of what it does to Giovanni. Sue he uses in the most clear and basic sense, as an escape from the choice and a way to forestall having to think about choosing. But it is also here where he sees his own manipulation of others in order to understand himself the most clearly. He understands, even as he decides to begin the flirtation, that what he is about to do to her is unfair and that it's all about him dealing with his own feelings using her as a tool. Yet he continues anyway, and despite the shame even during and especially after the fact there is little sense that he learned from it or understood that he views all of his interactions through the same lens. The use of David's own memories and bias to demonstrate the limits of his own self analysis is brilliant and I find the study of David's personality and psychology to be the most fascinating aspect of the novel. It's analysis of the way we are able to see our actions as wrong in one context and fail to apply this same self awareness to another that strikes me the most as the defining exploration of the novel. Although, perhaps that's because I see more of myself in David than I care to admit. Tl;dr David uses people as a tool to psychoanalyse himself rather than treating them as people who may suffer by this treatment and the death of Giovanni is the ultimate representation of that, even if he continues to be oblivious to core behaviours he repeats that lead him to such conclusions in relation to everyone in his life and not just Giovanni.

Just wanted to say that this video totally opened my eyes to a new way of pacing and writing. I can see it in my own work now. Like, it’s crazy how the impact of some scenes has risen just from considering the analysis of this book while I write. There was always something flat and awkward in my work, and after hearing you go through the beginning of this book it’s like something finally clicked. I’m excited to explore it more on my own. Thanks!

I'm more a hobbyist writer than an aspiring professional, but that breakdown of the grammar at the beginning definitely felt very natural to me. I think any writer who has a decent degree of refinement to their voice will do some of that grammatical tweaking and structural adjustment intuitively. It just *feels* right to me to separate out a thought with a full stop, even if it would usually just require a comma, when the narrator intends some degree of finality to the statement, or stringing together run-ons with way too many commas (or none at all, sometimes) if a character's mind is racing. I've never intentionally gone in and doctored my grammar purely for the sake of conveying character, tone, or mood more effectively, but I think it's something many writers will do without realizing it. Now that you've pointed it out, though, I feel like I am going to be able to pay way more attention to how and where I do it, and hopefully make my writing more immersive as a result.

This was really cool. I normally listen to RU-vid videos in the background as I do mundane things like going on walks or folding laundry, but during this you caught my full undivided attention for the entire video

Oh, I haven’t seen this creator in my notifications in a while, welcome back

I’m glad to see you’re back! This was an interesting breakdown, as always. I’d love to see you return to covering xenofiction (if it’s something you’re still interested in), as while a lot of works in the genre (even my favorites) don’t have particularly strong prose and are instead carried by characterization, worldbuilding, themes, etc., there are a few that really shine. A Black Fox Running by Brian Carter and Fire, Bed, & Bone by Henrietta Branford both have fantastic prose and are well worth a read for anyone interested in xenofiction.

babe wake up new ccc post-watch edit: highly enjoyed! as usual, you have a way of writing that makes every topic you cover eminently understandable & compelling, and i'm definitely interested in reading giovanni's room, or other parts of james baldwin's library. great video! (Also, i did NOT expect to see dan olson in the background of the narration at 42:02 🤣)

Thank you for another incredible video, Nick. Your voice sounded really good! I can tell a difference from your earlier videos.

Y'know, RU-vid is a weird, weird place. It's been a couple years since I watched any of your videos, but today, I actually got a recommendation from your channel again! For a...video that you made a couple years ago! That I...had already watched before...I have no idea how this website works at this point. I'm just living here, lol. Anyway, once all of the confusion was sorted out, I gave this a watch, and I'm happy to report that the section on the way Baldwin frames his punctuation and grammar to convey a specific meaning genuinely helped me! I was putting the finishing touches on a flash fiction writing prompt this morning, and I used the breakdown as a reference point for the final edit of my submission. It was only a couple of punctuation marks, but you were so right. It changed so much of my sentence's connotations, especially when I read it out loud. It's at a critical moment in the piece, and my hope is that it'll make a big difference in the way people interpret it! So thanks for the assist, and I hope you're still doing as well as you said you were in the pinned post!

Holy cow, I come back to re-watch your video on narration and you've just released a new video! Hope you're doing well, your videos have been a guiding force as I learn how to write.

this is SUCH good shit oh my god cloud cuckoo country everything you make is just so good

Just commenting to so the algorithm sees higher engagement Glad CCC isn't dead

YEEEEEESSSSSS ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHANNELS IS BACK WITH AN HOUR VIDEO! I'm happy to hear you survived 2021. I can't wait to see what you come out with next.

I’d like to see your guide on prouse.

Up untilI watched this video, I didn’t think much about your sexuality, then, I heard that quote & remarked with joy “ha, he’s gay!” Not mockingly mind you, but simply pleasantly surprised.

Honestly, I should just have this guy decide what I should read. If he can sift through most literature to find unique gems like this, I'd rarely be disappointed

Ngl, this channel is what got me into reading

I always read "he was a very nice boy, too," as saying that he was perhaps too nice.

YES NEW VIDEO!

This video articulates very well how much I loved Giovanni´s Room; How Baldwin characterizes David, especially through writing style, is something I admired and seeing a in-depth breakdown on how he does such is great. :>

Thank you so much for this video! I've always struggled with literary analyses so this was incredibly helpful. I really love that you actually demonstrate Baldwin's techniques and his effects on the reader (while also emphasising what makes his writing so effective) because a lot of the analyses I read online don't really do such a comprehensive breakdown. Really hope you can do more videos like this!

Finally got around to reading it after like four months. Went in thinking about style and came out with that kind of heartbreak where you just stare at a wall in silence for a while. 10/10, would read and hurt again.

So glad to see another vid from you! love your stuff

what a lovely video this was. thank you a lot for this

Another absolutely lovely video! Thanks so much for going over this book's writing again. I'm excited for whatever comes out next, from you.

Loved this video! Keep up the great work !!

THIS IS THAT SHIT I WANT ALGORITHM GIVE ME THIS HOLY SHIT

I'm happy you're feeling better and doubly so that you're back, and what a return! Bless you, stay healthy and keep up the excellent work.

You have the best speaking voice, we could listen to you forever

An incredible pleasant surprise to see this video! Best wishes!

HE RETURNS!!!

Yooo good to see you again!

The Giovanni’s Room video you did is how I discovered you, I thought you’d stop uploading since then so it’s surprising that it’s also the subject of your next video

Great vid!

Great video- I loved it! Such a great book. It was so powerful and i couldn't put it down, so sad. A must read!

Such an excellent breakdown. I don't have much else to say. I'm just trying to boost the video for the algorithm! Anyway, thanks for the great video!

Good to see you again, man!

Welcome back. Glad to see you're back up and about.

the birb is back!!

The bird man liveth!

Yes! He's Back babyyyy!

yesss giovanni’s room!!

Finally got around to watching this, great video. I loved the chalk aesthetic and the close reading. Also, liked how you talked about poetry, do you understand it now, lol.

Welcome back!!!

If you're reading this comment, CCC, I hope you're doing well! And here's the rest my (kinda) melodramatic comment: When you said that there were mild spoilers, I shut off my computer, got Giovanni's Room, and started reading. It was one of the most painfully joyous books I've ever read. I relate with David so much. Now I'm back to watch the analysis of James' writing style! Hello again! I just want to thank you for motivating me to read *something* because it's been a long time since I actually sat down to read a book.

When the world needed him most, he returned!!!

Welp, guess I know what im doing for the next hour. Welcome back!

I would LOVE to see a video like this from you on Yanagihara's A Little Life. I enjoyed the book, but I understand there's some contention as to whether it should be considered poignant or just 'torture porn' and I've never seen a satisfactory argument one way or the other.

Ayy, the bird boi is back! :D

"Giovanni's room is -one of- the greatest piece -s- of -gay- fiction -written in English- " FTFY

Let’s fucking gooo

Thank you for this video! It's like a literaly masterclass. Is Giovani Room the best Baldwin work in terms of style? Which of his other books are worth a read?

"Practice writing every day" not everyday.

Hi! Thanks for the video ☺️ What do you think of Giovanni. If there was no Hella, would David be with Gio and happy?

I found this literary analysis to be very useful, I'll have to send it to a friend of mine whom could benefit from a lot of this video. I also wished to ask, would you be interested in examining techniques for crafting tense scenes in horror novels? Thank you again for being here and I hope your health improves.

AYYY

GOD i missed you

I don't know if you knew but apparently Giovanni's Room is a section of Another Country that grew out of the novel.

I dont know who you are, I don't know when I subbed to you. But today you showed up in my feed with an hour long video and I am scared

Are showing what a character is traumatized & showing what the main antagonist is capable of good reasons for backstory? Is show the origin of trauma good enough of a reason?

He's back + gay book. Oh baby.

It's not a generally in the box Gay literature. It's a beautiful prose of a conflicted and flawed human being.