{"product_id":"the-catacombs-a-novel","title":"The Catacombs: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn expat in Rome makes his way as a writer in this gripping and genre-defying novel, first published in 1965 by a rediscovered great of Black American literature.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“One of the great novelists of the last 100 years.” —Ishmael Reed, author of \u003cem\u003eMumbo Jumbo\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this masterpiece of metafiction set in the Rome of the tumultuous 1960s, Black American expatriate Bill Demby narrates his attempts to write a novel about his friend Doris, another Black American working as one of Elizabeth Taylor’s handmaidens in the filming of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eCleopatra\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e. Utterly dependent upon Doris for the development of his novel, Demby is both a participant in and observer of her life as she begins an affair with an Italian count. Demby’s growing emotional and artistic involvement in the tumultuous affair of his character-friend leads him on an existential quest for the meaning of truth and fiction, both lived and created, in a world torn by the social upheaval of the early sixties.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Call \u0026 Response Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46127601221701,"sku":"9798217007332","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0647\/6621\/4213\/files\/9798217007332.jpg?v=1792973938","url":"https:\/\/www.callandresponsechi.com\/products\/the-catacombs-a-novel","provider":"Call \u0026 Response Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}