Final Fridays

An exuberant and erudite collection of essays by “one of the most important novelist-teachers of 20th-century letters” ( Publishers Weekly ). For decades, acclaimed author John Barth has strayed from his Monday-through-Thursday-morning routine of fiction-writing and dedicated Friday mornings to the muse of nonfiction. The result is Final Fridays , his third essay collection, following The Friday Book (1984) and Further Fridays (1995). Sixteen years and six novels since his last volume of non-fiction, Barth delivers yet another remarkable work comprised of 27 insightful essays. With pieces covering everything from reading, writing, and the state of the art, to tributes to writer-friends and family members, this collection is witty and engaging throughout. Barths “unaffected love of learning ( San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle ) and “joy in thinking that becomes contagious ( Washington Post ), shine through in this third, and, with an implied question mark, final essay collection. “Barth’s writing is as ebullient and welcoming as ever . . . This collection truly shines, however, when Barth focuses on his true the craft of literature and the authors he has spent a lifetime reading, rereading, and admiring.” ― Publishers Weekly “There is no one else writing today who has the resources of Barth’s imagination.” ― The New York Times Book Review “A dilettante par excellence, Barth has read intelligently and indiscriminately enough to have something interesting to say at almost any time.” ― Kirkus Reviews