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A gorgeous and sad novel. This is my first Isherwood but will not be my last. I thought George was a sympathetic and complex character and in his grief we can see limits to human emotions that are not so often pondered on in this beautiful but tragic way. I really enjoyed this.
Also this was dedicated to Gore Vidal and I had not known about their relationship - mentorship where they write letters to each other for 40 years until Isherwoods death

I read the book yesterday and decided I needed to see the movie immediately after. And I am so glad I did. What a sad and gorgeous story.

The cast of the movie is perfect. The house. Goodness the House!! Beautiful. There are a few changes they made that I am not too sure about, but definitely made things more dramatic.

Normally I find age gap stories super sketchy, but Isherwood and the producers did things in a way that didn't feel creepy

I don‘t know how many novels about grief I‘ve read, perhaps this is the only one. It‘s certainly the only one that captures it so clearly, gently and delicately. 9/10

My 14yo found a book by Gore Vidal that he enjoyed in a used bookstore while we were traveling last week. We brought it home with us, and he took it with him to camp to finish. The day he left for camp, I picked up this novel and saw it was dedicated to Gore Vidal, which isn't actually significant but feels like it is. That's kind of how this book is: so many small moments in an apparently ordinary day that resonate with meaning for George.

#manicmonday #LetterI @CBee

📚 It - Stephen King
👤 Christopher Isherwood
🎬 Into the woods
👨‍🎤 Iggy Pop
🎤 Immortals - Fall Out Boy

Currently reading and currently eating. If you like gingerbread, this chocolate is for you! Yum 😍

It‘s a quick read, but a powerful and moving one. All of that heart-wrenching and grief-striking is counterbalanced with humour and insight. I laughed out loud a lot, but maybe take my reaction with a grain of salt. After all, I have a pretty dark sense of humour, so maybe I responded with more mirth than most readers would... Full review here: http://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/a-single-man-christopher-isherwood/ #QueerReads #QuickReads

Ace book!
Short but full of story and character. I really enjoyed this and was disappointed it was short!

Second hand copy and look at the date on the tube ticket inside it!

A Single Man begins with prose so painfully and exquisitely beautiful that I re-read the first couple pages a few times. George, a gay middle-aged English professor in the 1960s, is grieving the loss of his lover, Jim. Isherwood digs deep into the tender heart of existential loneliness with a character who longs for meaning and connection amid the cruel indifference of the world. A deeply moving novel, life-affirming in its own melancholy way.

It seems not much has changed in SoCal since the “Great Change.” I just love this description!

But your book is wrong, Mrs. Strunk, says George, when it tells you that Jim is the substitute I found for a real son, a real kid brother, a real husband, a real wife. Jim wasn‘t a substitute for anything. And there is no substitute for Jim, if you‘ll forgive my saying so, anywhere.

These books have not made George nobler or better or more truly wise. It is just that he likes listening to their voices, the one or the other, according to his mood. He misuses them quite ruthlessly...to put him to sleep, to take his mind off the hands of the clock, to relax the nagging of his pyloric spasm, to gossip him out of his melancholy, to trigger the conditioned reflexes of his colon.

My favourite #californialove story. Funny, bittersweet, heartbreaking, uplifting. It's love at all stages, in all forms, with all of its glories and imperfections. #90sinjuly @Cinfhen @Robothugs

Managed a few minutes of #audioreading between errands today. I think I'm inside for the day, so #springcleaningreadathon continues!

"... When it tells you that Jim is the substitute I found for a real son, a real kid brother, a real husband, a real wife. Jim wasn't a substitute for anything. And there is no substitute for Jim, if you'll forgive me saying so, anywhere"

“But now isn‘t simply now. Now is also a cold reminder: one whole day later than yesterday, one year later than last year. Every now is labeled with its date, rendering all past nows obsolete, until — later or sooner — perhaps — no, not perhaps — quite certainly: it will come.”

Isherwood makes something breathtakingly beautiful in this account of a man's everyday life after loss. Reading George's sorrow is ultimately comforting, and utterly human.

this might be my #FavoriteBookEver

Definitely my favorite passage. George had good plans.

I'm having to backtrack, since I didn't post as I read this. 💔

Such an amazing read

Before finishing this beauty tonight, I had to break out the ingredients for chocolate chip banana bread. (Idk where my loaf pan is. Don't judge me.)
😘👌

Earlier today, we thought a dear friend of our family had been one of the many either killed or harmed last night in Orlando. He finally called to say he's fine. In honor of Gay Pride month and those lost, I think I'll be starting this one a little early and adding more lgbtq+ lit to my TBR. 💔

I am obsessed with this collection from FSG. I found some more and need to get them but for now this is what I have!

This is all sorts of depressing, hopeful, lovely, wondrous and I'm so glad I finally read it. Can't recommend it enough.

Because a minority is only thought of as a minority when it constitutes some kind of threat to the majority, real or imaginary.