845 reviews for:

Wise Blood

Flannery O'Connor

3.67 AVERAGE

mariaterrado's review against another edition

2.0

challenging dark

golivia's review against another edition

3.0

dark

familiarscent's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

brandonpytel's review against another edition

3.0

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Hazel Motes is a young wanderer who ends up in a small Tennessee town to preach his gospel: the Church without Christ. In a book that unravels and slides into darkness, much like a Cormac McCarthy novel, Motes makes acquaintance with a lonely local 18-year old Enoch, who follows Motes around for companionship and to show him a mummified holy child. Motes simultaneously looks to blasphemy and escape Jesus while drawing attention to him all the same. As Motes falls further and further into literal darkness, those around him try to show him the light and himself, perhaps what he seeks most, he finds forced companionship with a young girl and then an older maid, both of whom try, with little success, to break into his stubborn, hardened core.

lucasguarnieri's review against another edition

4.0

mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

nimbos's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous funny reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I don't think I've had this much fun with a book before. Flannery does as the expression goes "castigat ridendo mores" and Wise Blood sure had me cackling at the absurdity of the characters. Despite it, the issues they have to face as well as the occasional blatant social side-commentary are approached in such a modern manner that I understand why Flannery has been and still is so relevant to this day.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Violence

It was so incredibly unnerving how the characters didn't seem to be talking to each other but rather AT each other all the time. I wanted to grab Enoch by the shoulders and shake him at some point.

devinkate's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

annatar12's review against another edition

4.0

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For a debut novella I’m honestly impressed with how many interesting themes O’Connor was able to weave into this depressing Southern gothic. In a brisk 120 pages or so, O’Connor touches on resentful nihilism, the death of god, the problems of human interaction, familial abuse, catholic guilt, the quest for authenticity, and alienation. While the prose isn’t anything stellar, all of the themes manage to intersect in a really beautiful way that I think this deserves 4 stars. I will definitely be reading her other works.

tendermarimo's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

doramac's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: N/A

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No