Widmerpool’s Valedictory

Lydia Kiesling

Hallo, friends.  I would like to apologize for the dearth of entries in the past week, and to make an exciting announcement.  “IRL,” my name is Lydia, and I have done three guest posts under that name for fancy literature blog The Millions.  (This is not a secret, obviously; I have linked to said posts on this blog, in fact many of you are probably here because of said posts.)  Last week, they offered me a spot as a regular contributor, and I have accepted.  I am taking a week’s holiday to do my actual job and also read seventy-five books, and my first post as one of “the crew” should appear next week.  I will do at least two, but hopefully more like four posts per month.  All this is good news for me because I will be in the milieu of a number of talented writers and readers, and because literally everyone in the world reads The Millions, and because I will soon become personal friends with Joyce Carol Oates and simply swim in hundred dollar bills.  However, it also means that I am retiring Widmerpool’s Modern Library Revue.   I will continue in the same vein on The Millions (Modern Library list books and digressions), but there will be no edition information, and no soothing green and grey background.

We have spent only a few short weeks together, but I have been surprised and moved by the interest you have shown this blog, and I hope that you will continue to read my work at its new home.  This site will stay up, so you can still visit and reminisce about the good old days of February and March 2009.  I feel a pithy remark in Latin would be a good way to end things, but I only know two, and they don’t make any sense here.  Besides, Samuel Butler tells us, “Latin and Greek are great humbugs; the more people know of them the more odious they generally are.”  Rather than digging up my old yearbook (“don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened”), or infecting my computer with a virus by searching horrible quotations websites, I will suggest that you read Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes, which is basically a compendium of the right stuff from old Gustave.  Me, I like “Whatever else happens, we remain stupid.”

Thank you all fore reading and see you at The Millions!

Sexy time for the last time! The first edition of Flaubert’s Parrot (not on the ML list, but wonderful) is London: Jonathan Cape, 1984.  Lots and lots of copies from $850 down.  Here is Peter Harrington’s copy, offered for $330:

Onward!