Selected Writings of Jean Genet

"The Selected Writings of Jean Genet" by Edmund White is arguably the best book to read if you are not familiar with Genet's writing. White is a biographer of Genet, but more importantly he is a great fan. The book includes his brief comments at the beginning of all the excerpts, which include portions of novels, plays, short stories, essays, and an interview. The comments lay out some background information which a first-time Genet reader will find useful. After reading this book, I read many of Genet's works and each time found myself referring to "Selected Writings" for added help in understanding and analysis