Wise Blood Book

Hey, kids! It's time for a game of Choose Your Own Adventure: Southern Gothic Literary Analysis Edition. Please select from the following options:

1. You are a Christian bordering on Calvinist who wants metaphorical reassurance that you are a part of the spiritual elect, and you want a real martyr of a sinner to guide you through the steps to grace: Hazel Motes returns from the war to find that he has no one, nothing, and nowhere to turn. In defiance, he rejects the lord (human nature, a necessary step) and starts his own church in an attempt to persuade people that sin is natural, Jesus is a fictitious concept, and that attempting to achieve grace and redemption through the conscious rejection of sin is, basically, a fool's errand. Of course, God has already selected Motes as a member of his posse, so he eventually cannot help but crawl toward the most savage acts of masochism and self-deprivation in order to achieve a thumbs-up from his creator. Thank God for mental illness!

2. You are an atheist who loves to explore the damaging effects that religion can have on society, particularly underprivileged, under-educated, and otherwise vulnerable individuals: Hazel Motes returns from the war to find that he has no one, nothing, and nowhere to turn. In defiance, he rejects "the lord" (finally) and starts his own church in an attempt to explain to other brainwashed people that sin is natural, "Jesus" is a fictitious concept, and that attempting to achieve "grace" and "redemption" through the rejection of "sin" is, in fact, a fool's errand. Of course, Motes has been programmed from an early age to believe that god has already selected him as a member of his posse, so he eventually (foolishly, depressingly) cannot help but crawl toward the most savage acts of masochism and self-deprivation in order to achieve a thumbs-up from his supposed creator. Thank god for ignorance! Sheesus.

3. You are uncertain about religion, but love to read books with a creepy religious undertone, despicable characters, rotting things, decaying road-signs, illness, degradation, spiritual defeat, handicaps, boils, suffering, old-fashion poverty-stricken whorishness and a general David-Finchery lens coloring and dinginess to everything within a nightmare-carnival setting: Hazel Motes has a shit life. He lives in some oddly eloquent alter-ego of a Rob Zombie movie. He turns to God(?) and it works out(?) Thank gawd for Flannery O'Connor!

*Side note: This book is a ball-crusher, and not for the faint of heart. I mean, no matter how you spin it, it is BLEAK. Don't read it while experimenting with different anti-depression medications or anything. You've been warned.

*Side side note: Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O'Connor should have made babies. Lots of babies.

*Side side side note: This is an extremely stripped down description of what's going on in this book, and in that right it is a bit unsure of itself (the review…certainly not the book). I fully acknowledge that I am not doing ole' Flanny flan justice, and for that I'm sorry. I'm on my break and out of time. More later(?)