Wise Blood
Flannery O'Connor · 1925–1964 · USA
Why it matters
Hazel Motes founds the Church Without Christ and preaches it from the hood of a rat-colored car. O'Connor's first novel: backwoods nihilism versus a God who will not let go, grotesque, hilarious, dead serious.
At a glance
gothicsatireexistentialist
Difficulty 6/10fast pace232 pagesGrotesque symbolism and theological argument underlie a deceptively simple plot.
Where to go next
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