Hey, guys! Wise Blood was the last book I read in my English class this year. It was definitely different than anything else we've read!
The Cover:
The Cover:
It shows a blind man's face, not a movie-star which was my first impression. This blind man originally represents the blind preacher but grows in importance as the novel goes on. A+ cover.
Official Description:
Wise Blood, Flannery O’Connor’s first novel, is a classic of twentieth-century literature. It is a story of Hazel Motes, a twenty-two-year-old caught in an unending struggle against his innate, desperate faith. He falls under the spell of a "blind" street preacher named Asa Hawks and his degenerate fifteen-year-old daughter, Lily Sabbath. In an ironic, malicious gesture of his own non-faith, and to prove himself a greater cynic than Hawkes, Hazel Motes founds The Church of God Without Christ, but is still thwarted in his efforts to lose God. He meets Enoch Emery, a young man with "wise blood," who leads him to a mummified holy child, and whose crazy maneuvers are a manifestation of Hazel's existential struggles. This tale of redemption, retribution, false prophets, blindness, blindings, and wisdoms gives us one of the most riveting characters in twentieth-century American fiction.
My Review:
This book is a comedy of sorts that proves to be deeper than you would assume at first glance. It uses a form of absurdism to stake a claim about religion and free-will. It is a satire of religion, while still promoting religion.
To be clear, this book is about religion by being anti-religious. The point (as I saw it) is that you see that the ideas, at least, of religion cannot be escaped. There is no huge moment of conversion or anything like that. It isn't a blatant message of religion, but it is definitely there.
The characters of this book were very one-dimensional. They were all one thing, which they characterized as strongly as possible. The flat characters were purposeful, but I know that the character's lack of interest can often be the kiss of death for a reader. It wasn't distracting from the story, but they didn't add anything to it either.
The plot, maybe due to the level of absurdity of Wise Blood, was all over the place. It followed about seven half-stories. A storyline would be developed and then left hanging. Other times a storyline that hadn't even been started would wrap-up, leaving me feeling as if I had just missed something. Characters knew things they shouldn't, did things without a reason, and reacted with unexpected emotions to...everything. Again, I believe this was purposeful. It definitely left a certain impression and feel to the scenes and the book as a whole.
Overall, I would recommend this book if you have some working knowledge of religion. You don't need to be well versed on biblical topics, or even know anything about a certain religion. If you understand the sensation of religion (whatever one), Wise Blood can be very interesting. It was one of my favorite English class books of the year. However, for the students in my class who knew little about religion, they just didn't get this book. They couldn't. Wise Blood is strange but good in a way I've never seen before.
Phrase:
Stones in his shoes
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The Cover:
It shows a blind man's face, not a movie-star which was my first impression. This blind man originally represents the blind preacher but grows in importance as the novel goes on. A+ cover.
Official Description:
Wise Blood, Flannery O’Connor’s first novel, is a classic of twentieth-century literature. It is a story of Hazel Motes, a twenty-two-year-old caught in an unending struggle against his innate, desperate faith. He falls under the spell of a "blind" street preacher named Asa Hawks and his degenerate fifteen-year-old daughter, Lily Sabbath. In an ironic, malicious gesture of his own non-faith, and to prove himself a greater cynic than Hawkes, Hazel Motes founds The Church of God Without Christ, but is still thwarted in his efforts to lose God. He meets Enoch Emery, a young man with "wise blood," who leads him to a mummified holy child, and whose crazy maneuvers are a manifestation of Hazel's existential struggles. This tale of redemption, retribution, false prophets, blindness, blindings, and wisdoms gives us one of the most riveting characters in twentieth-century American fiction.
My Review:
This book is a comedy of sorts that proves to be deeper than you would assume at first glance. It uses a form of absurdism to stake a claim about religion and free-will. It is a satire of religion, while still promoting religion.
To be clear, this book is about religion by being anti-religious. The point (as I saw it) is that you see that the ideas, at least, of religion cannot be escaped. There is no huge moment of conversion or anything like that. It isn't a blatant message of religion, but it is definitely there.
The characters of this book were very one-dimensional. They were all one thing, which they characterized as strongly as possible. The flat characters were purposeful, but I know that the character's lack of interest can often be the kiss of death for a reader. It wasn't distracting from the story, but they didn't add anything to it either.
The plot, maybe due to the level of absurdity of Wise Blood, was all over the place. It followed about seven half-stories. A storyline would be developed and then left hanging. Other times a storyline that hadn't even been started would wrap-up, leaving me feeling as if I had just missed something. Characters knew things they shouldn't, did things without a reason, and reacted with unexpected emotions to...everything. Again, I believe this was purposeful. It definitely left a certain impression and feel to the scenes and the book as a whole.
Overall, I would recommend this book if you have some working knowledge of religion. You don't need to be well versed on biblical topics, or even know anything about a certain religion. If you understand the sensation of religion (whatever one), Wise Blood can be very interesting. It was one of my favorite English class books of the year. However, for the students in my class who knew little about religion, they just didn't get this book. They couldn't. Wise Blood is strange but good in a way I've never seen before.
Phrase:
Stones in his shoes
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Happy Reading!
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