Montherlant had been expelled from the Catholic boys school Sainte-Croix de Neuilly in 1912 for his improper relationship with Philippe Giquel, a younger boy who had joined the school aged twelve. Les garçons (The Boys) tells a similar story. ( )

One of my desert island books... the novel revolves around a special friendship ("amitié particulière") between two boys in a Catholic school in Paris in 1913, its breakup due to a jealous priest and the consequences.

The storyline is based closely on de Montherlant's own experiences (he was expelled from school following such a relationship), and although the earliest drafts of parts of the novel were written by a young de Montherlant in 1913/1914, the novel was not completed until more than 50 years later, in 1967.

Despite the content of the story, Les garçons is neither a "gay" novel nor a confessional. Rather, Henry de Montherlant uses the novel to explore deeper questions of morality. In Les garçons, ultimate salvation seems to depend on how the individual reacts to the tyranical unfairness of life, and the realisation that true lasting love may be, in the end, an impossible dream. ( )