Need help remembring the title of a published journal

December 1, 2006 7:50 PM

I'm looking for the name a book or published journal that was titled something along the lines of Diary of a Failure/ an Insignificant Man etc., written by a guy who had wanted to lead an extraordinary life but found out he was terminally ill (his doctor and wife were already aware of this) and had only a few months to live, thus putting to waste all his plans and ambitions. Anyone heard of it? I think it was published in the late 19th or early 20th century.
posted by sk381 to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

Best answer: Journal of a Disappointed Man by W.N.P. Barbellion? see the wiki entry for more info.
posted by subatomiczoo at 7:59 PM on December 1, 2006

Response by poster: Yes, that's the one! Thanks...
posted by sk381 at 8:02 PM on December 1, 2006

That book sounds fascinating, subatomiczoo. Thanks! Too bad it's out of print.

sk381, it's a stretch, but based on the premise of that book, you might also like Fernando Pessoa's Book of Disquiet.
posted by dobbs at 8:13 PM on December 1, 2006

sk381, there's copies of the Journal on eBay for $15.
posted by dobbs at 8:26 PM on December 1, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks for the recommendation, dobbs. I'll look into it.
posted by sk381 at 8:56 PM on December 1, 2006

Hey, it's available online.
posted by tula at 9:29 PM on December 1, 2006

you may want to check out Diary of a Nobody as well; only tangentially related subject, but same period and very funny.
posted by londongeezer at 2:33 AM on December 2, 2006