Baldwin's ground-breaking second novel which established him as one of the great American
writers of his time 'Audacious... remarkable... elegant and courageous' Caryl Phillips
David a young American in 1950s Paris is waiting for his fiancée to return from vacation in
Spain. But when he meets Giovanni a handsome Italian barman the two men are drawn into an
intense affair. After three months David's fiancée returns and denying who he is he rejects
Giovanni for a 'safe' future as a married man. It is a decision that will bring tragedy.
'Exquisite a feat of fire-breathing imaginative daring' Guardian 'Gorgeous fearless
tempered by dark knowledge and pain ... the greatest American prose stylist of his generation'
Colm Tóibín 'A layered exploration of queer desire ... It is electric' Hilton Als
