num_pages: 144
description: In The Immoralist, André 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 from the French by David Watson, with an introduction by Alan Sheridan.
language: English
title: The Immoralist
titlecomplete: The Immoralist
genres: Fiction, France, French Literature, Philosophy, LGBT, Literature, Classics, Novels, Nobel Prize, 20th Century
ratings_count: 11676
places: Syracuse, Sicily, France, Italy, Tunis, Sicily, Italian Alps, Malta, Paris, Biskra, Algeria, Normandy, Tunisia, North Africa, El Djem
publisher: Penguin Classics