Books, Inq. — The Epilogue: July 2024

Saturday, July 06, 2024

Every government has as much of a duty to avoid war as a ship's captain has to avoid a shipwreck

— Guy de Maupassant, who died on this date in 1893

Let us pray …

… to the Little Flower — Miraculous Invocation to St. Therese.

Friday, July 05, 2024

Something to think on …

An artist cannot speak about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture.

— Jean Cocteau, born on this date in 1889

Thursday, July 04, 2024

Offering a poem and a prayer …

… The Second Coming and President Joe Biden

It's not often that you willingly -- proactively -- read an unfinished novel. And it's probably less often, still, that you enjoy the experience. But having set a goal to read all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's major novels, The Last Tycoon was on my list (it was the last of his novels on the list). I recently read the book, and I must say, despite is unfinished status, the experience was a rewarding one.

Tycoon is not a perfect novel: in my reading, the book lacks the glitter of Gatsby and the thoroughness of Tender is the Night. There is, perhaps, too much dialogue in Tycoon and not enough context, not enough character arc. But then, the pleasure of reading the novel outweighed all of this. Fitzgerald was a stylist of the first order, and while his writing had a certain flourish, it was never overdone. Tycoon has that charm, that style, especially the sections where histories overlap.

Tycoon is unfinished and the sense at the end is of a work wanting more. But that's understood when you start the novel: that's the deal you make. Given that Fitzgerald died days after completing the latest chapter, there's a certain poignancy to the whole thing: it's as if you're reading the story not only of Hollywood and its personalities, but of Fitzgerald's final moments. There are not many novels which serve this dual function.