Mechanically, watching the land disappear into the sea, the word Finstère came to mind. Finis-terre. Land's End. From here it really looked it . . . it was the end of Brittany, the end of France. The end of the earth. . . .

A lyrical gay coming-of-age story first published in 1951, acclaimed by many including Gore Vidal and The New York Times, about Matthew, a young American who moves to France with his mother following his parents' divorce. In boarding school and on trips with his mother into the countryside, Matthew navigates his budding sexuality and complicated new relationships with trepidation and hardship until he is forced to confront finistère?land's end?where the brutal truths of the world can be found.

Finstère was a profound achievement in the early years of the 1950s, and sold over 350,000 copies. This new edition, which returns this beautiful book to print, includes an appendix of historical materials about the book and author, as well as an introduction by Michael Bronski, author of such books as Culture Clash, The Pleasure Principle, and Pulp Friction.