In
The Immoralist, AndrŽ Gide presents the confessional account of a man seeking the truth of his own nature. The story's protagonist, Michel, knows nothing about love when he marries the gentle Marceline out of duty to his father. On the couple's honeymoon to Tunisia, Michel becomes very ill, and during his recovery he meets a young Arab boy whose radiant health and beauty captivate him. An awakening for him both sexually and morally, Michel discovers a new freedom in seeking to live according to his own desires. But, as he also discovers, freedom can be a burden. A frank defense of homosexuality and a challenge to prevailing ethical concepts,
The Immoralist is a literary landmark, marked by Gide's masterful, pure, simple style.
Translated by David Watson, with an introduction by Alan Sheridan.
Author Biography: Andre Gide (1869-1951), an influential French liberal thinker, writer, and literary critic, was one of the founders of La Nouvelle Revue Franaise, the literary review that united progressive French writers until World War II. Gide received the Nobel Prize in literature in 1947.