Quotes from book
The Last Gentleman

The Last Gentleman

The Last Gentleman is a 1966 novel by Walker Percy. The narrative centers on the character of Williston Bibb Barrett, a man born in the Mississippi Delta who has moved to New York City, where he lives at a YMCA and works as a night janitor. Will suffers from a "nervous condition", which causes him to experience fits of déjà vu and amnesiac fugues.


Walker Percy photo
Walker Percy photo
Walker Percy photo
Walker Percy photo
Walker Percy photo
Walker Percy photo

“Good-looking and amiable as he was, however, he did not strike one as remarkable. People usually told him the same joke two or three times.”

The Last Gentleman (1966)
Context: He was a young man of pleasant appearance. Of medium height and exceedingly pale, he was nevertheless strongly built and quick and easy in his ways. Save for his deafness in one ear, his physical health was perfect. Handsome as he was, he was given to long silences. So girls didn't know what to make of him. But men liked him. After a while they saw that he was easy and meant no harm. He was the sort whom classmates remember fondly; they liked to grab him around the neck with an elbow and cuff him around. Good-looking and amiable as he was, however, he did not strike one as remarkable. People usually told him the same joke two or three times.

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