The Bird of Night by Susan Hill

A really beautiful, tragic and strange story about a man who meets and falls in love with a poet struggling with madness. The narrator, Harvey Lawson, becomes immediately and utterly attached to lauded genius Francis Croft, who in turn becomes dependent on him, due to his frequent recurrences of insanity. The story is told thirty years after Francis's death, as Harvey, now a very old man, is being besieged by young critics and journalists, eager to write about Francis. I'm not sure what sort of 'madness' Francis has, but it seems like it might be bipolar disorder of some sort. The style is incredibly lyrical and sad, and I hugely enjoyed it. Interestingly, though it is very clear that Francis and Harvey are lovers, no one discusses this, the topic isn't avoided but is just sort of taken in a matter-of-fact way. Even Francis's strict and conventional father doesn't take issue with their relationship, but with Francis's madness. What makes the book especially poignant is that Harvey is constantly tormented by feelings of guilt: guilt at 'betraying' Francis if he lets doctors see him, guilt at perhaps not helping Francis the way he should have if he keeps him away from doctors. It's a problem that is never resolved, just as the issue of whether or not Francis's 'madness' has anything to do with his incredible creativity. Most important details seem to be oddly missing: none of Francis's poetry is ever quoted, even its subject is only alluded to briefly, we never find out what exactly his 'madness' is, there is scarcely anyone outside the insular world of Francis and Harvey. It's a very haunting and uncanny book.