A Single Man

A wondrously conceived story spanning twenty-four hours in the life of a middle-aged expatriate British professor of English at a California university, A Single Man was described by Stephen Spender as "an absolutely devastating, unnerving, brillant book." George is a man of intellect and humor, simultaneously brash and sensitive, gentle but with a streak of benign mischief, an enjoyer and a pessimist. Consumed with grief over the recent death of his companion, he determinedly persists in the routine of his daily life. Equal parts Prufrock and Lucky Jim, George is one of the more memorable comic anti-heroes of modern literature, and A Single Man one of the strongest efforts of a major writer of the post-war generation.