The Moviegoer

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Summary: While slightly overrated, you can't deny its genius....
Review: Binx and Kate are two extremely fascinating characters each searching for meaning in his or her own way. I was especially intrigued by Kate's smooth style and her depressing pessimism which adds a mysterious tinge to the tale. Each of them has a carefreeness and disregard for others that is very liberating. Their selfishness makes them distinct and likeable. Yet each of them develops emotionally, which adds a bit of humanity to the novel. Being from Louisiana, I especially enjoyed hearing about parishes and landmarks I am very familiar with.

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Summary: Disconnected
Review: The only thing going for this work is that it is short. The book tries unsuccessfully to link Binx's worthless life into something profound. Not so for this reader.

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Summary: Moviegoer
Review: During a recent conversation among some writers,artist and others, the topic arose as to some of the last best novels written. Percy's Moviegoer always arrives, never diminishes in its quality and status as a mere period piece. The book, a classic in all quarters (not just French, pun nonintentional), of psychology, spirtitual, and media, distinguishes between functional reality and noting those guideposts that lead to escapes from the drudgery of everyday life. It is a book where everything (sickness and health, sense of place and nomadicity, famial and eros), and nothing, all seem to merge (like a movie) yet never blur. With some of the most picaresque scenes occurring in and around New Orleans on the eve of Mardis Gras, circa 1960, this story holds very well together. I, too, have read very extesively, and found this book -no matter how far or wherever you go-- will be impossible to get away from. Very strongly recommend

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Summary: A Classic
Review: This novel is like none other I have ever read. Some readers might have missed Binx's search for himself, but that would be because they looked at events rather than the character himself. Percy takes you through Binx's painful search as he goes from being a superficial woman-chaser to an individual who truly loves other people. The major strength of the novel would be how each character views people in general. Don't be deceived by how succint the novel is though. There's so much in those 200+ pages...

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Summary: This book continues to change my life
Review: I am a voracious reader, but there are very few books I that I will read more than once. I have read the Moviegoer five times and will continue to return to Walker Percy's best novel as I pursue my own search for my life's meaning.

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Summary: Overrated
Review: The early pages of this book lead the reader to believe that Binx is going to embark on a real search for meaning in life. This promises thought-provoking pages to come, but the novel quickly disintegrates into a dull collection of unimportant, disconnected, and senseless scenes. Some readers will say, "That's the POINT!", and it just may be. Nonetheless, I was sorely disappointed by this one, particularly after hearing all the hype. Reading about one's search would be great, but only if the individual has actually made some progress and learned something along the way. Skip it.

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Summary: if you knew me this might mean something to you:
Review: my favorite book of all tim

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Summary: Known as Kid Rock to his Friends
Review: Whatever happened to that dude. Oh yeah. Anyway, you ought to read his books as long as your here. What else are you doing?

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Summary: An American masterpiece
Review: This is the story of a man searching for a pattern in events, an understanding of himself and his surroundings. In a society where change is constant and values are not clearly set, readers are exposed to the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of a commoner who is more aware of his actions than what others credit him. Readers cannot begin to fathom how real Binx is and how much of us is in him. Although an existentialist novel, I am truly endebted to Percy for his superior way of manifesting the difficulties human beings encounter today when analyzing human existence in an unfathomable universe. If you are the "wonderer" type, you'll be delighted to experience "The Moviegoer."

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Summary: The Big Omission From My College Syllabus
Review: Having finally read The Moviegoer, after years of hearing it referenced with reverence, my question is, how could my college professors leave this off the syllabus of my 20th century lit course? Of course, that was 25+ years ago, but we were reading Updike, Bellow and Cheever, so why not Percy, too? It is an English major's dream, out of a certain time but still so fresh, it's as if Percy's narrator was the first to sense a malaise in his life and set off on a search for meaning. The writing is plummy, elegaic, yet accessible, so one needn't be an English major to enjoy it.