In his two most celebrated novels, A BOYS OWN STORY and THE BEAUTIFUL ROOM IS EMPTY, Edmond White charted the story of an American homo-sexual through the 1960s and 1970s. They received huge acclaim, and the third in the sequence - which covers the 1980s - is long-awaited. In THE FAREWELL SYMPHONY Edmund White has drawn together all his experience of gay life in the 80s and transformed them into a wonder-fully witty and moving novel. Set in Europe and the US, and including portraits (thinly disguised) of some of the key figures of the time, THE FAREWELL SYMPHONY opens up a world which feels painfully and fascinatingly real.