The Goodby People (McNally Editions)

Synopsis

First published in 1971, The Goodby People is a landmark novel of post-Manson, pre-Disney Los Angeles. Set against the fading glamour of Old Hollywood, Gavin Lambert follows a drifting cast of characters including a bisexual draft dodger, a wealthy young widow searching for meaning, and a hopeful newcomer chasing a life in the movies. As they move between luxury homes, communes, fleeting romances, and impossible dreams, they are united by a shared sense of displacement in a city built on illusion.

Elegant, compassionate, and remarkably ahead of its time, The Goodby People is both a portrait of Los Angeles in transition and a timeless novel about longing, loneliness, and the fragile search for connection.

About the Author

Gavin Lambert (1924–2005) was a British novelist, screenwriter, biographer, and film critic who spent much of his life in Los Angeles. A close observer of Hollywood and its mythology, he wrote fiction and nonfiction that captured the city's glamour, contradictions, and hidden lives with remarkable insight. The Goodby People is widely regarded as his masterpiece.

Publisher
McNally Editions

Publication Date
August 9, 2022

Format
Paperback

Pages
256

Subjects
Literary Fiction · LGBTQ+ Fiction · American Literature · California Fiction

ISBN
9781946022448