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

[Stuart Chapman <cstuartchapman AT yahoo.com>]

If I can jump in with suggestions about Foote books to read, I'd say "Love in a Dry Season" and "September, September." The best Foote work is obviously The Civil War because with the events all laid out, Foote is free to do set pieces, which is his best quality.  His writing about the characters within the events is unbelievable.

 

Foote's worst novels, as I argue in my biography, are those that rely on a heavy-handed narrative voice. Unlike Faulkner or Percy, Foote has a quality about him that leads him to do too much historical writing in a way that is awkward. (Most books have a formal or informal section that involves something like Here is the History of Missisippi, Bristol, whatever.) Faulkner and Percy can include history stuff subtly and organically, making it filter through folks' lives.

 

Telling in this regard is even September, September, where Foote spent weeks reading through old newspapers, and in the midst of the book, at various times, he feels the absolute need to include these bits (about Sputnik, Sibelius, etc.) in what amounts to awkard inclusions, if not structural problems.

 

I like SS and Love in a Dry Season because they are the books where historical events seem to intersect with characters' lives in real, direct ways, instead of feeling as though these historical events are superimposed by an outside novelist onto characters, much like a puppeteer.

 

 

 

Teresa Brader <ttbrader AT mindspring.com> wrote:

I went to hear Shelby Foote speak at Barnes and Noble in Metairie
(suburb of New Orleans) -- Sept. 1997. He read from one of his Civil
War books and then answered questions. I asked him a Walker Percy
question. Afterwards, I caught him alone and told him I *had* to ask
him a Percy question, because Percy was my favorite writer. He said
Percy was his favorite too. I asked him which was his favorite Percy
book, and, after only a very small hesitation, he answered "The Last
Gentleman".

I digress ... during the questioning, someone had asked Foote what his
favorite book of his own was, and he said "Follow Me Down". Perhaps
that is as good a reason as any to read that one.

Teresa

RHONDA MCDONNELL wrote:

> Here's a question for all who are well-read. I've been reading the
> letters between Percy and Foote and I got to thinking that I've only
> read SHILOH and chunks of the CIVIL WAR trilogy. After reading the
> letters, I'd like to get a start on Foote, but, since I've limited
> time (okay, none . . . perhaps I'm avoiding writing my dss. for a few
> days), I'm looking for some recommendations. What do you all think is
> the best of Foote? Is it the history or one of the novels?


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