Nightwood by Djuna Barnes

Thanks to everyone who joined for our latest discussion of Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis yesterday.

It was wonderful to see both familiar and new faces, and I hope you all had a meaningful and enjoyable conversation.

The next book to read is Nightwood (1936) by Djuna Barnes.

Set primarily in Paris during the interwar years, Nightwood follows a group of deeply entangled characters navigating love, obsession, longing, identity, and loss. Dark, poetic, and psychologically intense, the novel has become one of the defining works of literary modernism.

A short description of the book reads:

Widely regarded as a modernist masterpiece, Nightwood explores desire, alienation, gender, and emotional dependency through some of the most lyrical and haunting prose of the twentieth century. It is also considered one of the earliest major novels to openly portray same-sex love between women.

You can read more about the book here and listen to it as an audiobook here:

Although Nightwood has never had a major film adaptation, the novel has had a profound literary influence. Writers such as T. S. Eliot, who helped edit and publish the book, praised its style and originality, and it has since become a cult classic within both modernist and queer literary history.

For other resources on how to get a hold of classic books, please see the About section on the front page of the group.

We meet up on Saturday, June 13th, at 4 p.m.

The location will once again be the Garden of the Royal Library.

During the spring and summer months, we always meet outside here. If the weather turns rainy, we will simply move indoors.

Please remember to bring your suggestion for the next classic book to read.

And, as always, please be mindful and respectful of each other, so that everyone feels welcome and appreciated.

In the meantime, happy reading/listening — or however you prefer to do it.