Fitzgerald flops

F Scott's lush, complex, and sometimes unlikable second novel The Beautiful and Damned drew a record small number of book club fans. The Jazz Age is truly dead.

Nevertheless, die-hards gathered in Arlington on a mild & sunny 8 Feb to discuss class, mobility, the tragedy of wasted talent and the wages of leisure, as well as a lively consideration of Fitzgerald's oeuvre, followed up with speculation as to who might be Fitzgerald's modern-day spiritual heirs (the Beats?). Highballs were also consumed.

Your faithful correspondent promises not to take it personally that The Beautiful and Damned was a bust. We promise to return to our regularly scheduled program of gay confessional literature and themes of social despair.