Casanova 20 Or, Hot World
Casanova 20 Or, Hot World by Davey Davis, published by Catapult on December 2, 2025, is a novel that explores themes of art, desire, and mortality. The story centers on Adrian, a young man whose extraordinary beauty has drawn attention and affection throughout his life. Now at twenty-nine in New York City, he navigates a world filled with fleeting relationships that provide both material comfort and emotional peril. As the narrative unfolds, Adrian faces a life-altering revelation that challenges his identity and the connections he has formed.
Readers will find a poignant exploration of friendship and the complexities of intimacy as Adrian grapples with his fading beauty and the implications it has on his relationships. Meanwhile, his best friend Mark, a renowned painter, confronts his own mortality while dealing with a devastating illness. The novel intricately weaves together their experiences, highlighting the tension between desire and vulnerability. With a page count of 304, this edition delves into the lives of two men as they seek understanding and connection amidst the backdrop of their personal crises.
Official synopsis Publisher
A novel about art, desire, and mortality, Casanova 20: Or, Hot World follows a young man isolated by his extraordinary beauty and his strange friendship with an older painter
Cursed by an extreme and unrelenting beauty, Adrian has drawn the frenzied attention of adoring strangers since childhood. As a twenty-nine-year-old in New York City, he spends his days drifting between affairs with women (and occasionally men) who provide him with everything he needs, from spending money to luxurious vacations to even, once, a mini yacht. With this generosity comes a dangerous possessiveness that often puts him at risk of much worse than heartbreak. But as people begin removing their masks in the spring of 2021, Adrian’s aimless sexual availability is interrupted by a shocking discovery: He is no longer beautiful.
Across the country, Adrian’s best friend and companion, Mark, a world-famous painter, has returned to the family home in rural Northern California. He’s faced with his own horrible revelation: He’s dying from the same mysterious disease that will soon take his mother and sister.
Despite the depth of their platonic romance, neither man reveals his fate to the other. Feeling as if he’s disappearing from sight, Adrian searches for answers among his thousands of lovers. In a race against his failing body, Mark becomes obsessed with watching fifty-two VHS tapes of unknown origin, left to him by his sister, before it’s too late.
“An astounding writer, seemingly unconstrained by taboos and waist-deep down in the maw of life” (Torrey Peters), Davey Davis presents a modern-day Casanova figure grappling with what it means to find true intimacy when his very existence means constant exposure to the world’s violent desire.
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