Staff Reviews
This queer cornerstone in the study of abjection is exactly what I needed: twisted, anti authoritarian, and extremely sexy. So much of queer lit can fall into the capitalist trap of “yay now you can buy a house, be a family, get a bank account, and buy more things!!” Genet, however, paints this character who has been cast out from society and therefore rejects society absolutely. The result makes me, like the narrator, “hot for crime."
— Ryan
Description
First published in France in 1949,
The Thief's Journal is Jean Genet's iconic work of autobiographical fiction. This new edition brings his legendary genius to future generations of readers, with an introduction by Genet's great admirer, Patti Smith.
From a prison cell, the journal's narrator recounts his travels across Europe in the 1930s--as a vagabond, pickpocket, and occasional prostitute--in pursuit of spiritual fulfilment through erotic trysts and evil deeds. Worshipping his own holy trinity of homosexuality, theft, and betrayal, he conducts every burglary, and each sexual encounter, with the elaborate, reverent ritual of a religious ceremony. Dressed in rags and stealing for his survival, he must evade the authorities for as long as possible.
A sensuous and philosophical reverie on freedom within confinement, the heroism of the outlaw, and deception as the ultimate act of devotion,
The Thief's Journal exemplifies the exquisitely lyrical combination of fact and fiction that made Genet a major figure in world literature.
