A review by serenegirl
In the Absence of Men by Philippe Besson

5.0

"Alexis’s skin had the softness of a young man of twenty. That soft skin, that smooth face under my fingers made me want to weep, to give up. I supposed the death of Alexis Guérande was reason enough to give up. I thought that the death of a young man of twenty, with such soft skin, was reason enough to stop trying to survive, to stop trying to make it out alive. I thought the world made no sense if young men of twenty with such soft skin could die."