Her Body and Other Parties

Not sure if this is the right fit?

Consider Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. Recommended by 3 sources.

“Sharp, intimate prose and a confined Paris setting produce a small, intense novel that tracks a young man's struggle between desire and social expectation. Its useful part is the sustained, inward pressure: long passages of reflection that make moral hesitation feel palpable and the prose often luminous. The main limitation is narrow scope—the plot is compact and frequently inward, so secondary figures stay sketchy and the mood can feel claustrophobic; readers seeking momentum or wider context may find it slow.”