“One of the greatest achievements of modern literature.”—Richard Howard

“A major achievement . . . . Genet transforms experiences of degradation into spiri­tual exercises and hoodlums into bearers of the majesty of love.”—Saturday Review

“Genet can use a brutal phraseology that makes prison life specific and immediate. Yet through his singular sensibility, these elements are transmuted into something fragile, rare, beautiful.”—The New York Times

“This book recreates for the reader Genet’s magic world, one of dazzling beauty charged with novelty and excitement.”—Bettina Knapp

“Genet would have deserved international standing for this novel alone. . . . He succeeds to an amazing degree in creating poetry from the profoundest degradation.”—The Times (London)