Christopher Isherwood · 1964 · overland

Christopher Isherwood's spare, luminous 1964 novel follows a single day in the life of George, a middle-aged English professor living in Los Angeles, numb with grief after the sudden death of his partner Jim. From waking to teaching to a drunken late-night swim, George moves through an ordinary Californian day shadowed by loss, in a book that became a landmark of gay literature.

1. 1
   Home

   George wakes alone in the small canyon house he shared with his late partner Jim.

2. 2
   San Tomas State

   The long freeway drive east across the city to teach his class.

3. 3
   The Gym

   An afternoon at the gym, the body still alive though the heart is numb.

4. 4
   Charlotte's House

   Dinner and old memories with his oldest friend, Charley.

5. 5
   The Starboard Side

   A bar by the ocean, and a reckless midnight swim with a young student.

6. 6
   Home

   And back to the empty house, where the long day quietly ends.