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A review by ehays84
The Thanatos Syndrome by Walker Percy
4.0
This was my first Walker Percy, and it was plenty good enough to make me want to read more. A blurb, by Douglas Bauer, on the back of the paperback version that I have says, "There is ample evidence of Percy's brilliance in The Thanatos Syndrome--the droll Dixie anthropology, the pitch-perfect dialogue, the sheer intelligence everywhere on the page. . . . It is splendidly, uproariously Catholic, as well." I essentially can't improve on that too much. Each of those elements mentioned are there in abundance, all of which had me tear through this book very quickly. But ultimately the child abuse was too much, and really, I think, unnecessary for Percy to make his point.
His point, ultimately, I completely agree with. The book essentially is an argument for humanity, as God has created us. It, therefore, belongs on the same shelf as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or the wide range of non-fiction literature arguing against the abuses of the Nazis and the Communists to "improve" society and humanity.
As I finished the book, I started to kind of think of the book as a morality play. I think it works pretty well that way, with many characters who are almost too much of themselves or over-exaggerated on purpose. If you read it that way, it's easier to take in some of its more brutal elements because you don't think of the victims as real people (even though of course you know they aren't because it's fiction).
One footnote to my review is that I called the Simeon Stylite reference before he explained it overtly near the end of the book. I got to visit the remains of his pillar in Syria when I was there in 2005, so it was pretty easy for me to spot with the priest up in his fire tower.
His point, ultimately, I completely agree with. The book essentially is an argument for humanity, as God has created us. It, therefore, belongs on the same shelf as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or the wide range of non-fiction literature arguing against the abuses of the Nazis and the Communists to "improve" society and humanity.
As I finished the book, I started to kind of think of the book as a morality play. I think it works pretty well that way, with many characters who are almost too much of themselves or over-exaggerated on purpose. If you read it that way, it's easier to take in some of its more brutal elements because you don't think of the victims as real people (even though of course you know they aren't because it's fiction).
One footnote to my review is that I called the Simeon Stylite reference before he explained it overtly near the end of the book. I got to visit the remains of his pillar in Syria when I was there in 2005, so it was pretty easy for me to spot with the priest up in his fire tower.