June books: Bottle Rocket Hearts and Giovanni's Room
and some Judith Butler!
Hello!!
Welcome back to Swebstack! Boy, have I been busy! I’ve been taking advantage of summer and running around the island, but not writing as much as I would like! I was super stoked to write this piece about my June reads, and I am trying something new here by trying to include some overarching themes and bringing in some theory that I have read that I found interesting. Sorry if this one is kind of dense, but I think it is important to write about, and I hope you enjoy! :)
I read two queer novels in June in honour of pride month for my bookclubs- the first being Bottle Rocket Hearts by Zoe Whittall and the second was Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. Two extremely different texts that address the multitudes of the LGBTQ+ experience. I thoroughly enjoyed these novels, and the radically different experiences of the characters in these novels brought to mind some of Judith Butler’s work surrounding shame and the self.
To begin, Bottle Rocket Hearts follows Eve, a 19 year old girl living in Montreal in the 90s. The story follows her and her girlfriend Della, who is 10 years her senior. Eve spends the novel navigating coming of age and relationships within a very beautiful and vibrant queer community. The novel follows her toxic relationship with Della and Della’s other partner, only named as “XXXX” (because even uttering her name was too painful for Eve, we’ve all been there). A parallel throughline is French identity and the Quebec referendum in 1995. This was a very interesting plot device, and I felt that it highlighted Eve’s transition into adulthood and autonomy. The characters in this novel were a very strong feature. Eve has this amazing group of gay friends who show her the ropes and induct her into the community. Her roommate Seven, a gay man living with HIV, has seen death countless times and spends the novel trying to run away from the stark reality of the AIDS epidemic. Her other roommate, Rachel, an accomplished student and activist, introduces Eve to the world of politics and feminism. The characters are interesting, fully formed, and flawed- which I always appreciated. Eve is especially candid and honest about her shortcomings. She does not hide from her jealousy and impulses and recognizes that she desperately wants to be loved and accepted. Overall, this novel was such a beautiful representation of queer joy and really captures a specific moment in time in Canada’s history.
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin looks at a very different facet of the queer experience. It follows David, an American living abroad in Paris in the 1950s. The novel follows him as he grapples with his desires and how he feels about his sexuality. He is engaged to a woman, Hella, who spends a lot of the novel away in Spain while David has an affair with an Italian man, Giovanni. This story is beautifully written and extremely heartbreaking. The plot builds up suspense as David’s world crumbles around him due to his inability to face his true desires and get past his deeply held shame. Reading this novel compared to Bottle Rocket Hearts gave me whiplash when it comes to the level of acceptance and openness. This novel gives a much more intimate and gritty look at the queer experience in a different social and political climate. This novel was interesting because on the surface, what David was doing to both of his lovers (leading them on and being emotionally unavailable) was cruel, yet I could not help but sympathize with this man who was so lost and sad. David deals with a fear that many of us face at one point or another- “Am I incapable of love?”. In contrast with David’s withdrawn nature, there is Giovanni, who wears his heart on his sleeve and falls deeply and quickly. Giovanni shows David what it is to love unashamedly and intensely. Although Giovanni is certainly not the model partner, his feelings are true and raw, and it is fascinating to read.
As I was reading Giovanni's Room, I kept thinking about The Psychic Life of Power by Judith Butler, a novel that looks at the self, subjugation and repression. So many queer stories are plagued with shame and tragedy, because the queer community has historically been marginalized and repressed. I see the tides turning towards stories of queer joy and liberation and there is space for all stories to exist- the more the better!
Back to Judith Butler- in the latter half of The Psychic Life of Power, Butler has a chapter about sexuality and melancholy. Butler argues that there is a predicament of “living within a culture which can mourn the loss of homosexuality only with great difficulty” which leads to unresolved grief and shame. In our society, particularly the society in which Giovanni’s Room is set, heterosexuality is “produced only through the prohibition of homosexuality”. This prohibition is what leads people to feel so guilty and repress their desires, much like David in the novel, who cannot seem to let himself be happy and loved. There is some interesting exploration of gender in Giovanni’s room. Often, Hella- David’s fiancée asks him to “let her be a woman”, implying that his lack of desire towards her makes her feel as though she is failing at performing her gender (an idea that Butler has pioneered). David also struggles with his own masculinity and is often seen to overcompensate due to his insecurities. There is an idea that this produces gender anxiety and that homosexuality would mean that you are failing at performing your gender. Butler claims that “Gender is acquired through the repudiation of homosexual attachment” and “Heterosexuality is cultivated through prohibitions”. Both of these ideas, and the connection between loss and prohibition, explain David’s intense struggle to come to terms with his identity and his inability to let himself love and be loved.
Butler turns to Freud when discussing gender melancholy, and that a lot of people feel self-aggression because of unfulfilled sexuality, which leads to turning upon oneself. David certainly exhibits this behaviour through self-sabotage. Butler’s theories, coupled with Baldwin’s novel, reveal the harm that a prohibitory society has on the psyche. When you compare David’s experience of queerness to Eve in Bottle Rocket Hearts, you can see the lack of shame and repression in Eve’s character, and it is hopeful and liberating. It shows progress and gives me hope that things have changed. At the same time, after reading about Montreal in the 90s and the gay scene, it makes me scared that so much progress and liberation is being turned back and queer and trans rights are being stripped on a daily basis. The rise of conservatism and hate is scary, but I hope this pride month everyone has taken the chance to support the queer community and uplift marginalized voices <3
I feel so lucky to be able to be an ally and learn through novels. Books are so powerful and awesome tools to better yourself and learn a thing or two!
Lots of love,
Sarah xoxoxo