{"product_id":"the-catacombs-paperback","title":"The Catacombs - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\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.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\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 \u003ci\u003eCleopatra\u003c\/i\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.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50102217900255,"sku":"9798217007332","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/IpgfJnJ_cx9798217007332.webp?v=1781079162","url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/products\/the-catacombs-paperback","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}