I've had this book on my to-be-read list for years. I really liked The Thanatos Syndrome, and Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book is one of my favorites. I didn't enjoy this book quite as much, though it was very well-written. In general, I'm not a big fan of books with no plot, and there wasn't a lot going on in terms of events with The Last Gentleman. Will Barrett is a Southern white man with a nervous condition: he often enters fugue states where he can't remember who or where he is. In the beginning of the novel, he's in Central Park with a telescope, sees a beautiful girl named Kitty Vaught, and falls in love with her. When he eventually approaches her, he meets not only Kitty but also her father, her ex-sister-in-law Rita, and her younger brother Jamie who's dying. Later on, he meets the other members of the family, Rita's ex-husband Sutter and Kitty's sister Val. Will travels with them from New York to the South (Virginia through Louisiana) and eventually to New Mexico in search of his true love, her family members, and the meaning of life. Percy does an excellent job of creating an atmosphere and a specific place - it's a Southern novel in every sense of the word. There's also a lot about race in it; it was published in 1966, so the perspective is quite different from the contemporary sensibility (though not, I think, offensive). In addition, there's a lot of metaphysical speculation, especially in the letters from Sutter to Val, which I quite enjoyed. I also really liked the ending. In sum, this book was hard for me to get through, but it definitely had its moments. There's also a sequel, The Second Coming, which I need to re-read now.

A young man, a telescope, Central Park, a romantic view of a woman and we are searching for meaning in modern life.