Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

percy-l - Re: [percy-l] The Moviegoer one of Top 100 books of all time

percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion on Walker Percy

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Charles Lowry <lowry.charles AT gmail.com>
  • To: "Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion" <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [percy-l] The Moviegoer one of Top 100 books of all time
  • Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:34:00 -0400

The original Time review was interesting, if only as historical artifact, but I did not think it was all that insightful.  I have always been struck, though, by the "review" of some anonymous copywriter at Knopf, whose observations appeared on the dust jacket of the first edition of The Moviegoer.  "The action spans one week--Carnival Week in New Orleans--in Binx's life and loves, a critical week during which his dreamlike existence in the suburbs is disrupted by an internal revolt that he himself hardly understands.  At the same time, Kate, desperate with neurotic anxiety, moves swiftly and inexorably to the end of her tether.  Binx's rediscovery of the strength of his tradition coincides with his new-found capacity to encounter and love Kate as a person in her own right."  Some of the diction, fifty years on, sounds dated, but I think this summary rings the bell.
 
Speaking of which, are there any plans to commemorate in some way the fiftieth anniversary of the publication?  I mean, if only to gather on Prytania Street or Elysian Fields and have a drink...

I have known, after the first reading and after uncounted rereadings, which novel I liked best (The Moviegoer) and which least (Thanatos Syndrome), which others always ranked in the top three (Love in the Ruins, The Last Gentleman) and which always ranked in the bottom three (Lancelot).  But guys my age always remember, all other considerations aside, which one has the nondescript fellow in his fifties who ends up with an attractive (and rich!) twenty-six-year-old girlfriend.  In the end, though, I'm with Richard Ford: The Moviegoer was the novel that changed my life.
 
Chuck Lowry
Brooklyn, New York



Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page