Finistère (novel)
{{Short description|1951 novel by Fritz Peters}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book
| italic title =
| name = Finistère
| image =
| image_size =
| border =
| alt =
| caption =
| author = Fritz Peters
| audio_read_by =
| title_orig =
| orig_lang_code =
| title_working =
| translator =
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country =
| language =
| series =
| release_number =
| subject =
| genre =
| set_in =
| publisher = Farrar, Straus and Giroux{{cite web |last1=Stewart |first1=Sophia |title=A pioneering Queer Novelist, Reissued by and Unlikely Publisher |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/95148-a-pioneering-queer-novelist-reiussed-by-an-unlikely-publisher.html |website=Publishers Weekly |date=5 June 2024}}
| publisher2 = Hirsch Giovanni Publishing (2024)
| pub_date = 1951
| english_pub_date =
| published =
| media_type =
| pages = 356
| awards =
| isbn = 978-1957241081
| isbn_note =
| oclc =
| dewey =
| congress =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| native_wikisource =
| wikisource =
| notes =
| exclude_cover =
| website =
}}
Finistère is a 1951 novel written by American writer Fritz Peters. The novel is about a teenager who falls in love with his tennis instructor at a boarding school he was placed in after moving to France.{{cite news |last1=Laski |first1=Marghanita |title=New Novels |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/258852569/?match=1&terms=%22Fritz%20Peters%22%20homosexuality |publisher=The Observer |date=11 February 1951}} It details the issues on the effects of divorce and the problems faced with homosexual relationships during that time period.{{cite news |title=A Pair of Recent Novels |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/762757139/?match=1&terms=%22Fritz%20Peters%22%20homosexuality |publisher=The Cincinnati Post |date=10 March 1951}} It was a bestseller, receiving a first printing run of 350,000 copies.{{cite web |last1=Donnelly |first1=Matt |title=Fritz Peters, Early LGBTQ Literary Icon, Coming to Screens and Bookshelves in New Rights Deal |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/news/fritz-peters-novels-movies-hirsch-giovanni-1235188495/ |website=Variety |date=23 February 2022}}
Plot
Set in the 1920s, the main character, Matthew Cameron, moves to France after his parents' divorce. He struggles to fit in until he forges a forbidden relationship with his tennis instructor, Michel Garnier. It focuses on the failure of their families and society to accept their same-sex relationship.
Reception
The novel was referred to as "very good" and "very depressing" by The Daily Telegraph.{{cite web |title=New Fiction |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/825602887/?match=1&terms=%22Finistere%22%20%2B%20%22Fritz%20Peters%22%20book%20review |website=The Daily Telegraph}} Herbert West of The New York Times said it was "the best novel I have ever read on the theme of homosexuality and its tragic consequences in a world made up of selfish, ruthless, cruel, egocentric people."{{cite web |title=The Author of the Best-Selling Novel The World Next Door has a New Book |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/372308907/?match=1&terms=%22Finistere%22%20%2B%20%22Fritz%20Peters%22%20book%20review |website=Chicago Tribune}}
Adaptation
The movie rights to Finistère were acquired by Hirsch Giovanni Entertainment in 2020. In 2024, it was released in audiobook format, voiced by Emile Hirsch.{{cite web |last1=Donnelly |first1=Matt |title=Emile Hirsch to Narrate Audiobooks of Pioneering Queer Author Fritz Peters |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/emile-hirsch-audiobook-fritz-peters-1236025261/ |website=Variety |date=5 June 2024}}