as for the "Great American novels" bit, I think she is referring to the frustration that can result from the pursuit of perfection. The "great American novel" is something of a goal or an ideal for every American novelist. The previous lines suggest that she has given up... that her "disaster" was derailed... and by the "master" of all things. It would seem that the frustrating pursuit of perfection has caused her to give up.
Consequently, there is a wail from the last great American novels... perhaps a wail of disappointment. I think she conflates the novels and the novelists a bit in the last line, but unlike her, those novelists did not give up in the pursuit of putting just the right words to paper. And that is to their undying credit (the novelists, I assume she means)
as for the "Great American novels" bit, I think she is referring to the frustration that can result from the pursuit of perfection. The "great American novel" is something of a goal or an ideal for every American novelist. The previous lines suggest that she has given up... that her "disaster" was derailed... and by the "master" of all things. It would seem that the frustrating pursuit of perfection has caused her to give up.
Consequently, there is a wail from the last great American novels... perhaps a wail of disappointment. I think she conflates the novels and the novelists a bit in the last line, but unlike her, those novelists did not give up in the pursuit of putting just the right words to paper. And that is to their undying credit (the novelists, I assume she means)