Timothy FindleyFamous Last WordsCanada: Penguin Books, 1982396pp. $15.999780440325437Famous Last Words by Timothy Findley is a book based on the events of World War II following the accounts of Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, an American Poet who sides with the fascist movement, and Annie Oakley, a liberating army officer. As Mauberley finds himself lost inside a hotel room during his final days, he decides to write his dying confessions upon a wall, describing the ploys and scandals of Hitler and Mussolini, iconic figures of World War II. The person who finds his testament is officer Annie Oakley, a character who takes interest in the story of Mauberley and decides to venture into his written journey. Whereas most novels based on the history of World War Two criticize the political corruption of fascist supporters, Findley takes a different approach to the situation. By bringing a twist to the story he gives the reader a different perspective of both parties involved in the war. At the time it was written, Findley decided to base his book off a poem written by Erza Pound, an American poet who embraced Mussolini’s idea of fascism and embraced support for Hitler. Using the ideas found in Pound’ writing, Findley gives birth to a character for his own novel, Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, a reincarnation of Erza Pound. Heavily based on historical events, the novel sometimes becomes hard to understand as the reader may not be able to recognize the situation that is taking place. What helps the reader become more engaged with the story is the vivid imagery and experience that Findley provides with his use of creative language, triggering our senses and allowing us to live life during this gruesome period. Although Findley chose an interesting twist portraying the major events of World War II, I found the book to be a thrilling drama as the story of Mauberley really helped me to understand the struggles that people had gone through during these times, causing me to feel the emotional strain and suffering of both parties. The main focus which intrigued me to read more of the novel was the characterization of Mauberley. At the beginning, he was portrayed as an anti-hero, something that a lot author’s choose to stay away from. This is refreshing as it allows you to see life from a different perspective, one shaped by the corruption of society. Due to this distinctive aspect, the revitalizing take on the setting of World War II will draw readers in. Through the use of his own perception, Findley was able to create a book which had its own uniqueness and mystery to it, causing readers to be interested in the tale of Hugh Selwyn Mauberley and Annie Oakley, two characters caught up in the bent state of the world, trying to fight for their own free will and expression. Any reader with an interest in the history of World War II will find themselves engrossed with the novel as Findley’s story about the tale of an American fascist and his interaction with historical figures will bring them back in time where it all began while adding a different viewpoint and a way of thought.
Definitely did NOT like this book. I read it for my highschool English class for a "book report", back in 2002, so in all honesty, maybe I should re-read it. I remember being extremely bored and annoyed with the (non)progress of the book and barely got what was going on!!! Maybe I should give it a try as an adult, but to a 16 year-old this was just ridiculous! I loved to read - it's not like I was one of "those" kids, but I just did not find this book interesting at all and I remember there being parts that I just did not understand!! I remember thinking that I must be stupid to not get it, since it was recommended to me by my best friend who was swooning over it, claiming that it was the cleverest thing since sliced bread.... In retrospective, I think she was a pretentious fake :) No way would a 16 yr.old appreciate this!
Do You like book Famous Last Words (2001)?
I tried to read this. I was actually forced to read it for school, but i am currently failing the class because I couldn't get through it no matter how hard I tried to concentrate. "Just get it over with," I would tell my self. I pushed and pushed my mind, but to no avail. This book was incredibly boring to me and i couldn't bring myself to finish. It was overly detailed and uninteresting, so I gave up trying to read it. Maybe it got better...On the other hand, does anybody have any opinions or thoughts to share on the imagery patterns of glass and mirrors? I personally found it very interesting. Specific examples would be on pages 11, 13, 18, 19, 25, 35, 40, 60, 133, 141, 162, 191, 198, 214, 227, 233, 237, 241, 246, 250, 251, 280 and 346. Check them out and tell me what you think!
—Mariam
Timothy Findley’s Famous Last Words was not, as I first thought it to be when saw it from among the other books in the second-hand bookstore, about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.The novel opens with Hugh Selwyn Mauberley‘s childhood experience of witnessing his own father’s dive to the earth from a hotel roof in Boston. His name is name appropriated from a 1920 collection of poems by Ezra Pound. As the plot unfolds, we are taken to Mauberley’s own final resting place in a hotel room high in the Austrian Alps during the last months of the war. Discovered by soldiers of the Allied armies along with his body – the victim of a chilling murder – are his last words. Etched on the walls is his gripping tale of the intrigues and dangerous schemes involving top Nazi officials, their sympathizers in the British nobility, and other unwitting pawns. But unlike the typical World War II book, the events in Famous Last Words are depicted by someone who sided with Hitler and Mussolini. The protagonist Hugh Selwyn Mauberley is described as a writer who though “once considered to be among the giants of twentieth-century American letters”, spent “an inordinate amount of time with the dissolute aristocracy of faded England and with the morally bankrupt crew that mans the elite but sinking lifeboat of a Fascist-dominated Europe.”Mauberley’s death under orders of the shadowy cabal he once collaborated with underscores the great tragedy of our times. From Famous Last Words
—Karlo Mikhail
I had heard a lot about Timothy Findlay being one of Canada's greatest writers so I grabbed this book at a rummage sale. It grabbed me by focusing in on the lives of famous World War II figures- like Charles Lindbergh, Ezra Pound and Hitler. Findlay's theme of a shadowy fascist cabal designing overthrow the balance of global power creates intrigue and moral conflict. I became invested in his characters. At one point, I felt sad at the death of a Nazi sympathizer- not something I'd normally be. Interesting thing about this story is the role of Ezra Pound. He is a minor character who only enters through his presence on the radio waves. This is really a metaphor of Pound's actual life as a noted American poet (Ernest Hemingway cited him as a major influence) who became the voice of the Nazi propaganda machine. The story's main character, Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, is actually the title of one of Pound's long poems.
—Ian
