Gide's short novel La Porte étroite (1909, Strait is the Gate) is written in the mode of the récit, which Gide identified as a narrative form conducive to expressing some of his central literary themes. The first part of Strait is the Gate is narrated by Jerome, who recounts his love for his cousin Alissa, her refusal to marry him, and her early death. The second part of this story consists of Alissa's diary, which Jerome discovers after her death, and which explains their complex relationship from her perspective.

Si le grain ne mert (1926, If It Die . . .), considered one of the great works of confessional literature, is Gide's autobiographical account of his life from birth to marriage.

Gide's novel Les faux-monnayeurs (1926, The Counterfeiters) is one of his best-known works. It concerns a group of boys prone to getting...