Even though Baldwin states that "the sexual question and the racial question have always been entwined", in Giovanni's Room, all of the characters are white.[3] This was a surprise for his readers, since Baldwin was primarily known for his novel Go Tell It on the Mountain, which puts emphasis on the African-American experience.[10] Highlighting the impossibility of tackling two major issues at once in America, Baldwin stated:[10]
I certainly could not possibly have—not at that point in my life—handled the other great weight, the 'Negro problem.' The sexual-moral light was a hard thing to deal with. I could not handle both propositions in the same book. There was no room for it.
Nathan A. Scott Jr., for example, stated that Go Tell It on the Mountain showed Baldwin's "passionate identification" with his people whereas Giovanni's Room could be considered "as a deflection, as a kind of detour."[11] Baldwin's identity as a gay and black man was questioned by both black and white people. His masculinity was called into question, due to his apparent homosexual desire for white men – this caused him to be labelled as similar to a white woman. He was considered to be "not black enough" by his fellow race because of this, and labeled subversive by the Civil rights movement leaders.[3]
Baldwin's American publisher, Knopf, suggested that he "burn" the book because the theme of homosexuality would alienate him from his readership among black people.[12] He was told, "You cannot afford to alienate that audience. This new book will ruin your career, because you're not writing about the same things and in the same manner as you were before, and we won't publish this book as a favor to you."[10] However, upon publication critics tended not to be so harsh thanks to Baldwin's standing as a writer.[13] Giovanni's Room was ranked number 2 on a list of the best 100 gay and lesbian novels compiled by The Publishing Triangle in 1999.[14]
On November 5, 2019, the BBC News listed Giovanni's Room on its list of the 100 most influential novels.[15]
The 2020 novel Swimming in the Dark by Polish writer Tomasz Jedrowski presents a fictionalized depiction of LGBTQ life in the Polish People's Republic.[16] Citing Giovanni's Room as a major influence in his writing, Jedrowski pays homage to Baldwin by incorporating the novel into his narrative, the two main characters beginning an affair after one lends a copy of Giovanni's Room to the other.[17]
Most criticism of the novel has focused on the role of heterosexuality.[18]
Santiago Herrera attempts to provide more insight as to why Giovanni’s Room was so heavily criticised: "Early critics of Giovanni's Room were split in two: they either did not like it because the main characters, David and Giovanni, were explicitly shown in a same-sex relationship, or because David was white. 63 years after the novel’s publication, this still makes me wonder: why was there so much initial opposition? Why was there so much controversy over David just being an average American man? The answer, Baldwin was black."[9] As Herrera states, much of the criticism was due to Baldwin’s race, even though the novel was deliberately written to focus on sexuality alone. It is important to note that, whilst Baldwin was attempting to write a more or less 'raceless' novel, this could not be achieved due to the societal yearning for racial discourse.
