Synopses & Reviews
Saint Genet is Jean-Paul Sartre’s classic biography of Jean Genet—thief, convict, and great artist—a character of almost legendary proportions whose influence grows stronger with time. Bringing together two of the century’s greatest minds and artists, Saint Genet is at once a compelling psychological portrait, masterpiece of literary criticism, and one of Sartre’s most personal and inspired philosophical creations.
Review
"A brilliant and unorthodox book, crowded with insights that will disturb and illuminate." —The Atlantic
Review
"A remarkable achievement." New York Times
Review
"The brilliance and humanity and erudition and unsentimental compassion that have gone into this work are literally unbelievable. . . . Saint Genet is biographical exegesis carried to the point of high art." —Newsweek
Review
"Grandly conceived and passionately executed." Harpers
Review
"One of the most astonishing critical studies ever written about one writer by another." TIME
Synopsis
The remarkable and controversial study of the mind, life, and legend of Jean Genet
About the Author
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) was a renowned philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, and literary critic. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964, an honor he declined.
Bernard Frechtman was Jean Genet’s first American translator and literary agent.