The Flesh Is Weak (1931) is a collection of short stories written and illustrated by John Held, Jr. Beautifully written, melancholy and elegiac; at his best, he was as good as Fitzgerald. With 28 full-page pen & ink illustrations.

From the publisher:

No one sees the younger generation more sharply and remorselessly than John Held, Jr. The nation that smiled indulgently at the sleek lads and imprudent lassies of his drawings awoke, with the publication of the first of Mr. Held's short stories, to the realization that here was no mere caricaturist....

Held portrayed a satirical view of the Roaring Twenties, often disapproving of the drinking, gambling, and rampant sexuality that often characterized the decade. It was more evident in his prose than in his artwork which had a surfeit of charm.

Held' first four books of fiction were Grim Youth (1930), John Held, Jr.'s Dog Stories (1930), Women are Necessary (1931), and The Flesh Is Weak (1931).