The Myth of Toole: A Consolation of Embellishment
However, I hadn’t realized until we were well into the interview that it was the first time since I had finished the book that I was discussing the Toole myth at length. The myth in question goes like this: After he poured his soul into his great novel, Toole was consumed with despair over his countless rejections and committed suicide. All seemed lost, but his sweet dedicated mother, emerging from her grief, picked up her son’s cross. She suffered the trials and tribulatio