# Quote — James Baldwin, Giovanni's Room

> 'And, at the risk of losing forever your so remarkably candid friendship, let me tell you something. Confusion is a luxury which only the very, very young can possibly afford, and you are not that young any more.'

- Author: [James Baldwin](https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-baldwin.md)
- Book: [Giovanni's Room](https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-baldwin/giovannis-room.md)
- Page: 36
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Baldwin#Giovanni's_Room_(1956)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-baldwin/giovannis-room/and-at-the

## More from this book

> I shall never be able to have any more of these boyish, zestful affairs — which are, really, when one thinks about it, a kind of higher, or, anyway, more pretentious masturbation. People are too various to be treated so lightly.

p. 5 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-baldwin/giovannis-room/i-shall-never.md)

> She is smiling and her eyes are kind but now the smile is purely social

p. 62 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-baldwin/giovannis-room/she-is-smiling.md)

> Nothing is more unbearable, once one has it, than freedom.

p. 5 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-baldwin/giovannis-room/nothing-is-more.md)