What a thrill it was to log on to Zoom this past Monday and see you all for our first meeting of our Virtual Book Club! After all these months of planning and anticipation, it turned out even better and more meaningful than I could have ever dreamed. I relished all the conversation we shared during our event and look forward to more. And thank you for all the messages of support and feedback you've been sending–I'm always happy to hear from you and always looking for ways to make the VBC as enjoyable and informative as possible, so keep the communications coming!
I can't stop thinking of Gatsby since we met. Besides being enthralled by the book's gorgeous language and profound themes, especially its anatomy of the the quest for that elusive "American dream," I'm continuously drawn to Hemingway's quote about Fitzgerald's talent being as "natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly's wings." The image is so powerful. Few things in nature rival the beauty of a butterfly's whirring wings; and yet, aren't those same creatures so fragile and delicate, not built to last? Tragically, neither was Fitzgerald's talent: he died way too young (at 44) and never produced a work that captured the reading public on Gatsby's scale. Hemingway's quote sums up the ineffable beauty of a book like Gatsby while also signaling that the genius behind it was not long for this world.
By now I hope you've received your first gift from the VBC: some printed quotes from Fitzgerald's masterpiece, courtesy of my friend Luke Pontifell and his glorious Thornwillow Press. How inspiring to see Gatsby's immortal prose set in such sumptuous text.
We can now look ahead to our next meeting on Thursday, Nov. 5th at 6pm Eastern Standard Time on The Lying Life of Adults by Italy's grande Elena Ferrante. I know many of us have been waiting for this novel for a long time, and now the moment is finally upon us. As always, and in case you missed it, I will include here a specially prepared PDF with some questions and points to help guide your reading of Ferrante's novel (click "Study Guide" below).
A final bonus for you to enjoy: some photos in bianco e nero, black and white, that I took of Ferrante's magnificent city, Naples, years ago.
I'll be in touch again soon, in the meantime, Buona lettura / Happy reading!
Joseph
