‘The Pharmacist is a rare thing of perfection: a contemporary novella that reads like both a European classic and a page-turner. The writing is superb. Sense of place, story, insight into the human condition, gave me everything that I wanted from a work of fiction. Not five stars but

an entire galaxy!’

VG LEE, author of

Mr Oliver’s Object of Desire

‘Sexy, wistful, wise, haunting and totally full of surprises. A real ride.’ NINA WADIA

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‘Justin David’s prose is as sharp as a hypodermic needle. Unflinching, uncomfortable but always compelling.’

NEIL MCKENNA, author of Fanny and Stella

Twenty-four-year-old Billy is beautiful and sexy. Albert – The Pharmacist – is a compelling but damaged older man, and a veteran of London’s late ’90s club scene. After a chance meeting in the heart of the London’s East End, Billy is seduced into the sphere of Albert. An unconventional friendship develops, fuelled by Albert’s queer narratives and an endless supply of narcotics. Alive with the twilight times between day and night, consciousness and unconsciousness, the foundations of Billy’s life begin to irrevocably shift and crack, as he fast-tracks toward manhood. This story of lust, love and loss is homoerotic bildungsroman at its finest.

‘At the heart of David’s The Pharmacist is an oddly touching and bizarre love story, a modern day Harold and Maude set in the drugged-up world of pre-gentrification Shoreditch. The dialogue, especially, bristles with glorious life.’

—JONATHAN KEMP, author of London Triptych