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

[David Alan Beck <dabeck AT iupui.edu>]

Karl,
You bring up a good point. That all linguistics, philosophy, etc. aside,
Percy is good novelist, and one doesn't have to go beyond his novels to
enjoy his fiction (though I'd argue that an understanding of the above
enhances his novels).
 What is great about WP is seeing his fiction come to life in the world
around us. For example, since we (I?) were discussing Love in the Ruins, I
saw a book review in the religion section of our paper that seemed almost
beyond parody. I was reminded of when Malcolm Muggeridge went to a
perfomance of Godspell and, after the perfomance, the Archbishop of
Canterbury, rose to his feet and said, "Long live God!" At that point,
Muggeridge said, he knew parody was no longer possible.
 Anyway, I digress. The book being reviewed was entitled, "And then God
created Golf." A quote from the review: "And the book includes a most
unique description of Jesus Christ: 'The greatest of teaching pros.'" The
line reminded me of the golf tournament in LIR. Isn't Jesus referred to as
"the greatest pro of all"? I can't find the exact quote, but the new book
seems to bring to life Percy's satire.
 Any thoughts (or direct references)? 
-David              

-In the deserts of the heart
Let the healing fountains start,
In the prison of his days
Teach the free man how to praise.               
                                -W. H. Auden