''A Single Man'' is a 1964

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

Christopher Isherwood Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include '' Goodbye to Berlin'' (1939), a semi-autobiographical ...

. Set in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

during 1962, shortly after the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

, it depicts one day in the life of George, a middle-aged Englishman who is a professor at a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

university. The university is a possible allusion to

CSULA California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

, where Isherwood taught for some time. The novel is also believed to be informed by a crisis in his relationship with

Don Bachardy Donald Jess Bachardy (born May 18, 1934) is an American portrait artist. He resides in Santa Monica, California. Bachardy was the partner of Christopher Isherwood for more than 30 years. Early life Born in Los Angeles, California, Bachardy ...

. In 2009, fashion designer

Tom Ford Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched Tom Ford (brand), his eponymous brand in 2005, having previously been the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves Sai ...

directed a

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of the novel, with additions made to the original plot in the screenplay by

David Scearce David Scearce is a lawyer and screenwriter. Career Law Scearce earned a business degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a law degree from the University of British Columbia before joining the Justice Department. Film In 2000, Scearce decided ...

and Ford. Ford also contributed a foreword to a re-release of the novel.

Plot

58-year old George is still grieving after the recent death of his long-term partner, Jim. He is unable to cope with the despondent, bereaved nature of his existence. George goes through his day having various encounters with different people that colour his senses and illuminate the possibilities of being alive and human in the world. At the university where he works as a lecturer, he discusses one of

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the ...

's books with the students. One of them, Kenny, strikes up a conversation with him after the lecture. The two walk to a bookshop where Kenny buys George a pencil sharpener as a gift. Later, George goes to a hospital to visit Jim's lover, Doris, who survived the accident in which Jim died. She is frail and not expected to live for much longer. George goes to the gym and then visits his friend, a fellow English expatriate Charlotte. They have dinner and drink a lot. George goes to The Starboard Side, a local pub. There, he encounters Kenny, who, it turns out, had come here expecting to see George. They drink and talk, flirting between the lines. Kenny suggests that they go for a swim and they both go in the sea naked. George suggests that they go to his place. There, they talk some more, but after a misunderstanding, George falls asleep and Kenny leaves his house. George wakes up, reads a friendly note that Kenny had left behind, and falls back asleep. The narrator then imagines, while commenting on the improbability of this happening on this particular day, the death of George and how his mind leaves his body behind.

Characters

* George * Jim * Mr. Strunk * Mrs. Strunk * Mr. Garfein * Mrs. Garfein * Charlotte * Kenny Potter * Lois Yamaguchi * Russ Dreyer * Alexander Mong * Tom Kugelman * Buddy Sorensen * Sister Maria * Mr. Stoessel * Mrs. Netta Torres * Dr. Gottlieb * Myron Hirsch * Wally Bryant * Estelle Oxford * Grant Lefanu * Cynthia Leach * Andy Leach * Doris * Buck * Rick * Two young men playing tennis

Censorship

In April 2025, the

Lukashenko regime Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

added the book to the List of printed publications containing information messages and materials, the distribution of which could harm the

national interest The national interest is a sovereign state's goals and ambitions – be they economic, military, cultural, or otherwise – taken to be the aim of its government. Etymology The Italian phrase ''ragione degli stati'' was first used by Giovanni de ...

s of

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Single Man, A 1964 British novels 1964 American novels 1960s LGBTQ novels British novels adapted into films American novels adapted into films Novels by Christopher Isherwood Novels set in Los Angeles Novels set in one day Fiction set in 1962 Novels about gay topics Methuen Publishing books