Finistère is a 1951 novel written by American writer Fritz Peters. The novel is about a teenager who falls in love with his tennis instructor at a boarding school he was placed in after moving to France.[2] It details the issues on the effects of divorce and the problems faced with homosexual relationships during that time period.[3] It was a bestseller, receiving a first printing run of 350,000 copies.[4]

Finistère
AuthorFritz Peters
PublisherFarrar, Straus and Giroux[1], Hirsch Giovanni Publishing (2024)[1]
Publication date
1951
Pages356
ISBN978-1957241081

Plot

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Set in the 1920s, the main character, Matthew Cameron, moves to France after his parents' divorce. He struggles to fit in until he forges a forbidden relationship with his tennis instructor, Michel Garnier. It focuses on the failure of their families and society to accept their same-sex relationship.

Reception

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The novel was referred to as "very good" and "very depressing" by The Daily Telegraph.[5] Herbert West of The New York Times said it was "the best novel I have ever read on the theme of homosexuality and its tragic consequences in a world made up of selfish, ruthless, cruel, egocentric people."[6]

Adaptation

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The movie rights to Finistère were acquired by Hirsch Giovanni Entertainment in 2020.[4] In 2024, it was released in audiobook format, voiced by Emile Hirsch.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b Stewart, Sophia (5 June 2024). "A pioneering Queer Novelist, Reissued by and Unlikely Publisher". Publishers Weekly.
  2. ^ Laski, Marghanita (11 February 1951). "New Novels". The Observer.
  3. ^ "A Pair of Recent Novels". The Cincinnati Post. 10 March 1951.
  4. ^ a b Donnelly, Matt (23 February 2022). "Fritz Peters, Early LGBTQ Literary Icon, Coming to Screens and Bookshelves in New Rights Deal". Variety.
  5. ^ "New Fiction". The Daily Telegraph.
  6. ^ "The Author of the Best-Selling Novel The World Next Door has a New Book". Chicago Tribune.
  7. ^ Donnelly, Matt (5 June 2024). "Emile Hirsch to Narrate Audiobooks of Pioneering Queer Author Fritz Peters". Variety.