Christopher Isherwood: A Single Man

A Single Man was Christopher Isherwood’s favorite of his nine novels, the one in which he believed he had come closest to saying what he meant to say. When it was published in 1964, the novel was praised for its artistry and denounced for its subject matter. More recently, American author Edmund White has hailed A Single Man as the founding text of modern gay literature.

The novel follows a day in the life of an expatriate Englishman in Los Angeles, California. George (no surname) is a middle-aged literature professor at a state university. In the course of his day, George lectures to a multicultural group of students, visits a dying friend in the hospital, works out at his local fitness center, dines and dri