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Wise Blood (1952)

by Flannery O'Connor

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3,7241123,165 (3.84)246
Fiction. Literature. HTML:

The American short story master Flannery O'Connor's haunting first novel of faith, false prophets, and redemptive wisdom.

Wise Blood
, Flannery O'Connor's astonishing and haunting first novel, is a classic of twentieth-century literature. It is the story of Hazel Motes, a twenty-two-year-old caught in an unending struggle against his inborn, desperate fate. He falls under the spell of a "blind" street preacher named Asa Hawks and his degenerate fifteen-year-old daughter, Sabbath Lily. In an ironic, malicious gesture of his own non-faith, and to prove himself a greater cynic than Hawks, Motes founds the Church 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 Motes's existential struggles.
This tale of redemption, retribution, false prophets, blindness, blindings, and wisdom gives us one of the most riveting characters in American fiction.

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» See also 246 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 112 (next | show all)
I believe that a book should alter me is some way - just to have read it. This book didn't touch me. The story is numb and leaves the reader with nothing. ( )
  Kimberlyhi | Apr 15, 2023 |
I listened to all of Wise Blood yesterday - it was so weird that I just could not stop listening. It was narrated by Bronson Pinchot who was full of fabulous with all of the characters and somehow managed over the top without going, well, too over the top with it. My first foray into Flannery O'Connor, and it was like reading something that William Faulkner and Neil Gaiman collaborated on as a companion piece to A Confederacy of Dunces - Southern gothic with all of its tragic glory, laced with dark humor, irony, and a definite sense of place. It's brilliant, and just when you think it can't get any weirder, it does. Somehow, Flannery wrote a carnival. I already want to listen again with the book in front of me so that I can mark quotes, but part of me fears that the entire book would be marked. ( )
  Crazymamie | Apr 4, 2023 |
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. ( )
  steve02476 | Jan 3, 2023 |
Didn't care for this at all
  rjdycus | Dec 19, 2022 |
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. ( )
  paroof | Nov 22, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 112 (next | show all)
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Flannery O'Connorprimary authorall editionscalculated
Pinchot, BronsonNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Hazel Motes sat at a forward angle on the green plush train seat, looking one minute at the window as if he might want to jump out of it, and the next down the aisle at the other end of the car.
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Wikipedia in English (1)

Fiction. Literature. HTML:

The American short story master Flannery O'Connor's haunting first novel of faith, false prophets, and redemptive wisdom.

Wise Blood
, Flannery O'Connor's astonishing and haunting first novel, is a classic of twentieth-century literature. It is the story of Hazel Motes, a twenty-two-year-old caught in an unending struggle against his inborn, desperate fate. He falls under the spell of a "blind" street preacher named Asa Hawks and his degenerate fifteen-year-old daughter, Sabbath Lily. In an ironic, malicious gesture of his own non-faith, and to prove himself a greater cynic than Hawks, Motes founds the Church 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 Motes's existential struggles.
This tale of redemption, retribution, false prophets, blindness, blindings, and wisdom gives us one of the most riveting characters in American fiction.

.

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Book description
Hazel Motes returns from the military to find his home abandoned. He is a man in religious crisis. His own grandfather was a revival preacher, yet he has rejected not only faith, but the entire story of Jesus.
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