Wise Blood: A Novel by Flannery O'Connor Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Wise Blood: A Novel
Book Review: What a carnival. . .
Summary: 3 Stars
. . .what a parade. There is one unpleasant character followed by another unpleasant character followed by one even less likable (and more unlikely). Yet this novel of the grotesque--of the pretend gorilla, of the "Christ without Christ" church, of the repentant Christian who doesn't believe in repentance or Christianity--makes one think and makes one laugh. I know I won't forget Hazel Motes, even if I prefer not to remember him.Book Review: Wiser to Not Read This Novel
Summary: 2 Stars
I read a lot of books and am fond of many Southern authors, including the late Ms. O'Connor. I really enjoyed her wonderfully titled "A Hard Man is a Good Find" (Note: A fine birthday gift for my grumbling gorilla of a wife; inscription: "I told you so!") and I like the author's ability to make the grotesque humorous.
Unfortunately, this novel is a complete failure with very little to laugh about. It's a pretty meaningless story with virtually no plot: nutty war veteran returns to empty home town, goes to another town, preaches nonsense, acts like the nutjob he is, meets some other worthless characters, does nutty things in an effort to find redemption (an idiot's path, mind you), etc. This supposedly funny novel with a point (often my very favorite genre) fails to elicit more than a single laugh (the scene with the Gonga the Gorilla was pretty darn funny--pointless, but funny) and the point about redemptive suffering (if that was even the point) struck this reader as ridiculously rendered.
All the characters are lunatics and there's absolutely nothing driving this book to conclusion, other than the turn of the page. This novel has been highly recommended by people who tend to be trustworthy. Unfortunately, I put it on the short list of books I've actually finished that I wish I'd never started. Not her best effort and one of the worst novels I've ever read. HHD>.
Book Review: You can't beat Wiseblood
Summary: 5 Stars
This was one of the most soul pummeling books I've ever read. It's funny, dark, and infused with the heart of a writer grappling with notions of grace and humanity's place in the universe. Avoid Houston's film version -- he really didn't understand the gut of this book at all.Book Review: not O'Connor's best, but still beautiful
Summary: 4 Stars
Hazel Motes, discharged from the army, sets out to be a car-roof preacher of the Church Without Christ, preaching the fallacies of faith. He becomes obsessed with a blinded preacher, and garners the obsession of a the preacher's sultry daughter, a lost young man who abducts a shrunken mummy, and a widow. Hazel Motes literally and figuratively blinds himself to the truths of life while he navigates a dark world filled with O'Connor's trademark grotesque and bizarre images and characters. Though thought-provoking and oddly beautiful, turning the oddities of life into religious symbols, the novel does not seem to be O'Connor's form. Flannery O'Connor is a refreshing literary voice and one that requires the reader to wrestle with the characters and actions in order to find meaning. Grade: B+