Minor Black Figures

Over a hot summer in New York, a painter falls for a priest in this captivating modern love story from the Booker-Prize shortlisted Brandon Taylor.

Minor Black Figures is a story set over a hot New York summer, where Wyeth, a young Black painter, finds himself trying to carve out a space within Manhattan's contemporary art scene. Sharing a studio with friends, he ekes out a living working for a gallery and an art restorer. Despite these efforts, Wyeth struggles with his portrait painting, unable to capture the essence of his subjects.

Then Wyeth encounters Keating, a white former priest wrestling with his faith. Despite their apparent differences, Keating helps Wyeth to perceive the world in a different light. As the summer unfolds, filled with gallery openings and city wanderings, Wyeth searches for a long-lost Black artist while growing closer to Keating. Their burgeoning connection forces them to confront the disparities between them, leading Wyeth and Keating to a pivotal decision about what they are willing to risk for art and for love.

This page-turning New York novel, a sweeping modern romance, offers a tender and involving portrait of loneliness and connection.

"One of the most accomplished, important novelists of his generation" – Guardian

"A piercing, precise, and affecting tale of young love and high art" – Kirkus

"Brandon Taylor is without a doubt our laureate of hyper-intelligent yearning – nobody does it better" – Lit Hub

Praise for Brandon Taylor:

"Taylor has both a classic sensibility, expansive and elegant, and a razor-sharp ability to speak to the contemporary moment" – Emma Cline

"A writer of rare daring, his fiction a series of revelations" – Katie Kitamura

"The moment-to-moment pleasures of Taylor's prose are such that you simultaneously cannot wait to see where he takes you next while being happy for him to take you anywhere" – Colin Barrett