MALCOLM

Malcolm by James Purdy: Novel about a 15 year old boy of exceptional beauty who is living alone in the city, waiting for his father to return. Mr. Cox, a famous astrologist, takes it upon himself to introduce Malcolm to the very best society which the city has to offer and a sequence of meetings with strange people begins, including a pair of billionaires, a jazz queen, a midget painter, an undertaker, and “America's formost chanteuse.”


(first sentence) “In front of one of the most palatial hotels in the world, a very young man was accustomed to sit on a bench which, when the light fell in a certain way, shone like gold.”