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A review by lookhome
Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book by Walker Percy
4.0
Percy's Lost in the Cosmos is a strangely formatted and oddly sequenced book.
That being said it is an intriguing entry in the self-help boom of the 80s and though I haven't personally read the books Percy alludes to, from hearsay, I believe it's safe to assume self-help books follow a certain formula.
Percy's novel raises important questions and though it doesn't always answer them, it creates a situation where the reader seeks and often finds symbols, symbolism, signs and ultimately meaning in his/her/their everyday surroundings.
Broken into 3 segments, Percy's novel works best when it explores semiotics.
If you like Barthes' study of semiotics, this is a nice refresher and Percy's graphs easily illustrate the difference between the signifier and the signified.
There's some pretty intriguing space oriented situational/character sketches as well.
An enjoyable read overall.
That being said it is an intriguing entry in the self-help boom of the 80s and though I haven't personally read the books Percy alludes to, from hearsay, I believe it's safe to assume self-help books follow a certain formula.
Percy's novel raises important questions and though it doesn't always answer them, it creates a situation where the reader seeks and often finds symbols, symbolism, signs and ultimately meaning in his/her/their everyday surroundings.
Broken into 3 segments, Percy's novel works best when it explores semiotics.
If you like Barthes' study of semiotics, this is a nice refresher and Percy's graphs easily illustrate the difference between the signifier and the signified.
There's some pretty intriguing space oriented situational/character sketches as well.
An enjoyable read overall.