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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Nothing gets me going like some good Southern Gothic lit'cher. And few did it better better than the Belle of Milledgeville, Flannery O'Connor. Known primarily for her short stories, "A Good Man is Hard to Find," "The Life You Save May be Your Own," "Good Country People," and "Everything That Rises Must Converge" (to name a few), O'Connor's novels are things of grotesque beauty, as well.
WISE BLOOD, the saga of the reluctant preacher, Hazel Motes, the founder of the Church Without Christ, assembles the oddballs of humanity as well as the best Southern Gothic fiction. There's Leora Watts, the prostitute Hazel finds through an ad on the men's room wall. There's Enoch Emery, the young laborer who becomes Hazel's dim but loyal follower. There's Hoover Shoats, the street evangelist who appropriates Hazel's intellectual property. There's Asa Hawks, the blind preacher, who takes Hazel on as an apprentice, and his virginal daughter, Sabbath Lily.
Of course, O'Connor's novels and stories are more than just entertaining character sketches. At the root of WISE BLOOD lies the question of salvation in a world of contradiction and hypocrisy. Hazel Motes' reaction is to reject his soul. For some, the solution is to cling hard to whatever is at hand. For others still, the solution is to take advantage of people's need for faith in something.
After Hazel's last attempt at coming to terms with his existence, perhaps all O'Connor really wants us to accept is the final word on the subject by the Pullman car porter, who early in the novel tells Hazel what he seems to be coming to grips with: "Jesus been a long time gone."
WISE BLOOD, the saga of the reluctant preacher, Hazel Motes, the founder of the Church Without Christ, assembles the oddballs of humanity as well as the best Southern Gothic fiction. There's Leora Watts, the prostitute Hazel finds through an ad on the men's room wall. There's Enoch Emery, the young laborer who becomes Hazel's dim but loyal follower. There's Hoover Shoats, the street evangelist who appropriates Hazel's intellectual property. There's Asa Hawks, the blind preacher, who takes Hazel on as an apprentice, and his virginal daughter, Sabbath Lily.
Of course, O'Connor's novels and stories are more than just entertaining character sketches. At the root of WISE BLOOD lies the question of salvation in a world of contradiction and hypocrisy. Hazel Motes' reaction is to reject his soul. For some, the solution is to cling hard to whatever is at hand. For others still, the solution is to take advantage of people's need for faith in something.
After Hazel's last attempt at coming to terms with his existence, perhaps all O'Connor really wants us to accept is the final word on the subject by the Pullman car porter, who early in the novel tells Hazel what he seems to be coming to grips with: "Jesus been a long time gone."
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 stars. Really haunting tale. Remarkable that it was written by a 27 year old woman in the 1940s. Expert demonstration of southern gothic lit for sure
"Have you heard the word of God today? Because he's full of shit." -Hazel Motes
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
challenging
dark