Have you read Second Coming by Walker Percy?
I knew that Percy wrote with a Christian viewpoint and this kept me from looking at any of his stuff. But I have read Flannery O’Connor’s work, which also has a Christian bent and I found that I was still able to appreciate her writing.
So I took a chance on Second Coming. I will not be reading anything else by Percy. I have seen reviews that talk about Christian symbolism in the book, but whether or not that is so, it has to be able to stand on its own, which in my opinion it does not.
To spoil the plot (actually it is already spoiled), a wealthy middle aged widower contemplates suicide, but is rescued by a young woman who is a mental asylum escapee with a less than firm grip on reality.
The man initially contemplates setting himeself up as the woman’s guardian, but after having sex with her, decides to marry her instead. If this sounds cheesy, then you have caught my impression. For the book to work, you have to believe in the relationship between the man and the woman and all I could see was some wealthy middle aged man taking advantage of a disturbed young woman. Yuck!
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@lostinparadise, I’ve never read Second Coming, but the mention of Walker Percy makes me think that I should re-read The Moviegoer and The Last Gentleman soon.
Reading the plot you just wrote, I feel the novel is not worth reading at all!!! it seems like a typical romance novel…or much worse
The opening sentence of “Message In a Bottle” is telling about Percy and his reoccurring quest for self:
“In the beginning was Alpha and the end is Omega, but somewhere between occurred Delta, which was nothing less than the arrival of man himself and his breakthrough into the daylight of language and consciousness and knowing, of happiness and sadness, of being with and being alone, of being right and being wrong, of being himself and being not himself, and of being at home and being a stranger.”
I thought message in a bottle was a brilliant film but didn’t read the book… How is it related to this book mentioned above? am i being thick
I haven’t read Second Coming but I recently tried to read The Moviegoer after hearing for years that it was a great American novel. I read about a third of it, couldn’t relate to the main character at all, and finally put it down. I felt badly because there is obviously something there that I am missing, and I am a real reader, but I’ve gotten to the point in my life where I trust my own judgment mainly as regards books.
@lynneblundell, not a thick question at all. Actually, two different authors. The movie is based upon a book by Nicholas Sparks, who also wrote The Notebook. Walker Percy is very much a southern American writer, which reflects a different side of American culture, especially those stories set in the early to middle part of the last century. (As does Tennessee Williams, & F. Scott Fitzgerald)
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