Vous voulez voir cette page en fran�ais ? Cliquez ici.

3 used from CDN$ 29.57

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

Search inside another edition of this book

Famous Last Words (Hardcover)

by Timothy Findley (Author)

4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.

3 used from CDN$ 29.57

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Headhunter

by Timothy Findley

5.0 out of 5 stars (1) CDN$ 16.02

The Afterlife of George Cartwright

by Ren�e Hulan

5.0 out of 5 stars (1) CDN$ 11.66

The Piano Man's Daughter

by Timothy Findley

4.8 out of 5 stars (5) CDN$ 14.59

A Soldier of the Great War

by Mark Helprin

4.7 out of 5 stars (120) CDN$ 34.62

Such Is My Beloved

by Morley Callaghan

3.5 out of 5 stars (2) CDN$ 13.10

› Explore similar items

Product Details

Hardcover: 396 pages
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0333439139
ISBN-13: 978-0333439135
Shipping Weight: 581 g

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Amazon.ca

Like it 1977 predecessor The Wars, Timothy Findley's 1981 Famous Last Words ruthlessly examines the (often violent) nature of social division and union, as well as the making of history. Together these two novels mark the peak of Findley's career. While the slim Wars focuses largely on a single Canadian soldier in the First World War, Famous Last Words observes the next war--sometimes in the wings, sometimes from a distant office--through expatriate American writer Hugh Selwyn Mauberley. The title character in a well-known poem by the infamous Ezra Pound ("born / In a half savage country-- / Bent resolutely on wringing lilies from the acorn"), Mauberley gives Findley a focus point for his forceful moral questions. Can bad people produce good art? (Good anything?) Are actions really excused by explanations?

Findley's career as a professional actor is nowhere more present than in this fascinating novel of revelatory props, coded dialogue, and emblematic settings. Mauberley's participation in an international cabal of intelligentsia and power brokers also lends Famous Last Words the suspense of an espionage novel. This fictional group, devoted to creating a new, post-national Europe, anticipates the migrant fixations of so many of Findley's fellow Canadian novelists. Like the characters of Mordecai Richler, Rohinton Mistry, Guy Vanderhaeghe, and Mavis Gallant, Findley's Mauberley is, in Michael Ondaatje's phrase, another "international bastard--born in one place and choosing to live elsewhere. Fighting to get back to or get away from our homelands all our lives." --Darryl Whetter --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Edmonton Journal

"Famous Last Words is a brilliant novel, a great one."— --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

Tag this product

(What's this?)

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?

	95% buy the item featured on this page: Famous Last Words 4.4 out of 5 stars (5)
	5% buy Modern Classics Not Wanted On The Voyage 4.3 out of 5 stars (9) CDN$ 13.87

Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic post-modern read, Aug 30 2005

By	bookishgal25 (ontario, canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Famous Last Words (Paperback)

Interesting that The Wars deals with the First World War and one man's personal transformation both before the war and during it. Famous Last Words, in a sense, picks up where the other novel left off. While the author's fictional protagonist/antagonist Mauberly is the inadvertent co-narrator of the story, the novel really focuses on varying characters and motives both during and after the Second World War.

The most intriguing part of this novel is the discovery of Mauberly's writings on the walls of a European hotel room and the impending decisions to be made about its historical importance. American soldiers have to decide whether to preserve the historical narrative written by a questionable character or destroy all memory--artistic or otherwise--of a gruesome war.

One gets the sense that Findley is making a post-modern comment on the myth of truth-telling and the conflict between art and politics. But also, the irony of Findlay as storyteller commenting on the subjectivity of storytelling is not lost.

All the Findlay elements are here in this novel: intrigue, mystery, psycho-analysis, and moral ambiguity. It does not have the power or punch of The Wars, but it is a confusingly fascinating read.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4.0 out of 5 stars A great read...although sometimes too complicated, Jun 26 2004

By	"orchid_54" (Nepean, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Famous last words: A novel (Hardcover)

Findley's "Famous Last Words" is an excellent novel, although sometimes wordy. In reading other works by Findley I found many similarities in the plot. Findley truly mixes fact and fiction in a believable fashion. This book was set well before my time, but I found Findley's use of fiction was in all the right places. The main plot of the secret underbelly of a fascist conspiracy to take over Europe transpiring before, during, and after WWII that featured a writer named Maulberely was interesting but confusing. Famous Last Words is unique, and exciting, providing the realization that not everything is as it seems...

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

4.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary Fiction!, Jan 19 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: FAMOUS LAST WORDS (Mass Market Paperback)

Timothy Findley's new novel is the result of a poetic and limitless imagination which goes beyond the confines of national boundaries and places him securely among the most original creative writers in the twentieth century. With a rich, brilliantly crafted plot, this novel of gripping international intrigue is one of his best yet. Ingenius characters and a fantastic plot make this novel a brilliant example of Findley's genius. A captivating piece of fiction.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 5 customer reviews...

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The most enthralling and captivating books I have read
I have not read a book before that kept me so intereseted, in a long time. Timothy Findley is a genius in his writings.

Published on Sep 17 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important books in Canadian Literature
Crisply written, suspensfull, and with a cast from the pages of 20th centuary history, "Famous Last Words" is a towering achievement in storytelling. Read more

Published on Jun 21 1996