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

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Steven:

 

I work in a similar field (services to people with cognitive disabilities), and live in Cincinnati.  That is the only thing different I would have written in a paragraph about LITR. . . oh, except that I first read it in 1993 (stumbling on to it in a bookstore in Pensacola, FL).  My sister who works in mental health and who is not as keen on Percy as readers of this list, names LITR as the one book she actually liked.  There are very few books that make me laugh out loud, and LITR is one of them.

 

And

 

Rich:

 

I think you'd find Thanatos Syndrome much darker (perhaps not as dark as Lancelot) than LITR even though it features the same character.

 

David

 

-----Original Message-----
From: sldye AT bluegrass.org
To: percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 2:04 PM
Subject: Re: [percy-l] humor in Love in the Ruins versus sadness of Lancelot

I re-read LITR every 5 years or so, too. It is one of my favorite novels
and I find it just as humorous - and relevant - in 2006 as I did upon
first serendipitous reading (stumbled onto it in a book store in New
Orleans) in 1983.  I also laugh out loud a lot while reading it. As for
being relevant, I thought of LITR in the dark days after 9/11 and I also
thought about it when Katrina hit New Orleans.  I work in the mental
health field, so ol' Dr. Tom More is a kindred soul to me for many
reasons.

Steven L. Dye, MA
Director
Bluegrass MH-MR Board, Inc.
1500 Leestown Road, Suite 338
Lexington, KY 40511


-----Original Message-----
From: percy-l-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:percy-l-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Gray, Rich
Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 12:59 PM
To: Percy-L: Literary and Philosophical Discussion
Subject: [percy-l] humor in Love in the Ruins versus sadness of Lancelot

I just re-read Love in the Ruins after about ten years.  It is supposed
to be dated, but I found it relevant -- and funnier than I remembered
it.  Members of my family were asking what I was laughing about.
Stryker announcing his discovery at the Love Clinic: 
    "I think you might be interested to learn, Tom, that since June
we've been using not one subject at a time" -- he touches my arm with a
withered finger--"but two."
    "Two?"
    "Yes.  A man and a woman.  Here's the breakthrough."  

After LITR, Percy wrote Lancelot, somber and violent.  How can this
swing in mood be accounted for?  The other four novels are similar in
blending satire with serious theme development.  And no one is killed (I
believe).  

Rich Gray

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