{"product_id":"book-yee6","title":"The Catacombs","description":"\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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCover: The Intimacy of Water (detail), 1973 by Romare Bearden, © 2026 Romare Bearden Foundation \/ Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":50578491703600,"sku":"BDyee6","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/yee6-Square-cover.jpg?v=1770086639","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-yee6","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}