James Purdy: Life of a Contrarian Writer

A New Yorker Best Book of 2022

A definitive biography of a twentieth century gay author whose work has recently been rediscovered and enjoys a cult following.

One of the most iconoclastic twentieth-century American novelists, James Purdy penned original and sometimes shocking works about those on the margins of American society, exploring small towns, urban life, failure, alienation, sexuality, and familial relations. In his own life, Purdy was a compelling if eccentric figure, declared an "a...