Lunchtime read: The Immoralist

Although Michel has been leading a double life where most of the immoral thoughts are in his mind and rarely displayed in public he runs into someone who knows his secret.

After giving one of his lectures on archaeology that sets up an aggressive position against traditional views he is greeted by someone who has become an outcast because of some scandal. This man invites Michel to dinner and reveals that he followed in his footsteps to Tunis and discovered his relationship with the Arab boys and in particular his favourite who he refused to confront over the theft of some scissors.

Michel doesn’t quite know what to make of the revelation and manages to focus in on his lectures, spending money he hasn’t got doing up his Parisian apartment and meeting people and worrying that all the socialising is hurting his wife, who is suffering from tiredness in her pregnancy.

More tomorrow…