The Last Reader Leaves

Emil Mihail Cioran (1911-1995)

“Only unfinished—because unfinishable—works prompt us to speculate about the essence of art.” ~ E.M. Cioran, Drawn and Quartered

Nine days ago, I wrote about a small nihilist-themed book club that a group of young people invited me to join. At that time, the club had already been reduced from five members to two. Of the original participants, only I and one other reader remained. I remarked then that we would see how long he stayed.

The answer, it turns out, was less than two weeks.

Before we even finished our second selection, Drawn and Quartered by E.M. Cioran, he too dropped out, leaving me as the sole surviving member of what had once been a book club—a somewhat absurd ending for a group dedicated to discussing the absurd.

I cannot say that I am surprised. Disappointed, yes, but surprised, no.

One increasingly notices among the young a tendency toward enthusiasm without perseverance. New projects are eagerly proposed, clubs are formed, identities are adopted, and ambitious plans are announced. Yet the discipline required to sustain such endeavors often proves lacking. The excitement of beginning seems far more attractive than the obligation of continuing.

Still, I do not regret participating. Camus was worth revisiting, and Cioran remains as sharp and unsettling as ever. If nothing else, the experience confirmed a lesson that extends well beyond books: ideas matter only when one is willing to pursue them beyond the initial excitement. Intellectual life requires curiosity, but it also requires endurance.

The book club may be dead. The reading continues.

~ By Giovanni di Napoli, June 27th, Feast Day of Our Lady of Perpetual Help