Holy cow this was one strange story. Funny in spots but kinda nightmarish overall. Not terrifying but disjointed and sad and a more than a bit crazy. A good novel but I’m surprised it was considered publishable in the early 50s. I’m going to have to look into the history of the book, contemporary reviews, etc. My wife tells me there was a good movie made of the book - as I was reading it I thought it would have been a good Elia Kazan movie but it turns out that John Huston made the movie.

I listed to the audiobook - I thought the voice actor (Bronson Pinchot) went overboard on weird southern accents, but maybe that was appropriate to the book. ( )

Didn't care for this at all

I couldn't put it down. I love Flannery O'Connor's short stories so it's no surprise that her novel drew me in. The protagonist, Hazel Motes, the son of a preacher, returns home from war. His finds his family homestead abandoned and he has no one left. Hazel struggles with his religious convictions, claiming to be an atheist. After trying to convert others to his "new church" - Church without Christ. He single-mindedly devotes his life to his unbelief.

In some ways this book reminded me of Gilead by Marilynne Robinson - the father as minster, the prodigal son, the heavy themes of beliefs. But Wise Blood is much harsher and is told from the point of view of the prodigal son unlike Gilead which is told from the point of view of the minister. One with a loving family and one with no family.

Highly recommended to those who enjoy classics, southern literature, or Flannery O'Connor. ( )

I need to reread this novel some time, but when I read it in college I didn't care for it because it was weird. However, the old I get the more I'm into weird books. I'm not sure when I'll reread this, but I'm also starting to like Flannery O'Connor more. All I remember about this novel is religious allegories and a man dressed in a gorilla suit. ( )

Just couldn't do this. I sometimes find it difficult to overcome things that are obviously repulsive but part of the time in which the book is written, but I can do that when there is something there that overreaches that. This book showed no promise that that was true. Again, drunkenness and prostitution are subjects I can countenance if they contribute to some greater meaning in the story...didn't see it.

I am bailing, after having several trusted friends tell me there wasn't going to be any improvement. Can't win them all, although this month I have really been having a bad run. I was disappointed, because I have previously always found the substance in O'Connor to overcome the flaws. ( )