2024 marks the centenary of the birth of the American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, one of the most important literary minds of the 20th century. For BBC Radio 4, Kyle Soller reads his groundbreaking 1956 novel of love and desire, repression and shame.
David, a young American expat in Paris, has proposed to his girlfriend Hella and she's promised to give him her answer when she returns from vacation in Spain. While she's away, David meets Giovanni, a handsome Italian barman, and the two men begin a passionate affair. As the date of Hella's return approaches David wrestles with the choice he must make; a choice that will have devastating consequences.
Produced by Mair Bosworth and Mary Ward-Lowery for BBC Audio
Abridged by Sara Davies
Read by Kyle Soller