First published by E. P. Dutton, 1979 

Elkin wrote “The Conventional Wisdom,” “The Bottom Line” and “The State of the Art” over three consecutive summers when he was taking a break from writing George Mills. He considered The Living End to be a triptych, where the three novellas stand alone but are also consecutive parts of a longer story. Both his most fantastical and his most accessible book to date, it brought Elkin a wider audience than he’d ever had or would again. Ken Russell was set to direct and John Belushi to star in a film adaptation, but the project imploded after Belushi’s death, Russell’s overly ambitious plans for special effects, and investors’ reluctance to support a film that would feature an unflattering depiction of God and the Holy Family.