The Moviegoer - Wikipedia The Moviegoer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search For the album by Scott Walker, see The Moviegoer (album). The Moviegoer First edition Author Walker Percy Language English Genre Philosophical fiction Publisher Alfred A. Knopf Publication date May 15, 1961[1] Media type Print (hardcover, paperback) Pages 242 The Moviegoer is the debut novel by Walker Percy, first published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf in 1961.[2] It won the U.S. National Book Award.[3] Time included the novel in its "Time 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005".[4] In 1998, the Modern Library ranked The Moviegoer sixtieth on its list of the hundred best English-language novels of the twentieth century. It is published in the UK by Methuen.[5] The novel is heavily influenced by the existentialist themes of authors like Søren Kierkegaard, whom Percy read extensively. Unlike many dark didactic existentialist novels (including Percy's later work), The Moviegoer has a light poetic tone. It was Percy's first, most famous, and most widely praised novel, and established him as one of the major voices in Southern literature. The novel also draws on elements of Dante by paralleling the themes of Binx Bolling's life to that of the narrator of the Divine Comedy. Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Characters 3 Major Themes 4 Film version 5 References 6 External links Plot summary[edit] The Moviegoer tells the story of Jack "Binx" Bolling, a young stock-broker in postwar New Orleans. The decline of tradition in the Southern United States, the problems of his family and his traumatic experiences in the Korean War have left him alienated from his own life. He day-dreams constantly, has trouble engaging in lasting relationships, and finds more meaning and immediacy in movies and books than in his own routine life. The loose plot of the novel follows the Moviegoer himself, Binx Bolling, in desperate need of spiritual redemption. At Mardi Gras, he breaks out of his caged everyday life and launches himself on a journey, a quest, in a "search" for God. Without any mental compass or sense of direction he wanders the streets of New Orleans' French Quarter, and Chicago, and then travels the Gulf Coast, interacting with his surroundings as he goes. He has philosophical moments, reflecting on the people and things he encounters on the road.[6] He is constantly challenged to define himself in relation to friends, family, sweet-hearts, and career despite his urge to remain vague and open to possibility. "What is the nature of the search? you ask. Really it is very simple; at least for a fellow like me. So simple that it is easily overlooked. The search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life." Characters[edit] John Bickerson "Binx" Bolling, called Jack by his aunt, but Binx by friends, Is one week short of his 30th birthday at the start of the book. His older brother Scott died of pneumonia when Binx was eight. He studied Biology at Tulane, and was wounded at the Chongchon River in the Korean War, shot in the shoulder, and knocked out for two days. Jack Bolling, Binx's father, was a doctor, studied medicine and surgery in Boston, returned to Feliciana Parish to practice medicine under his father. Volunteered for the RCAF in 1940 and was killed in Crete before the US entered World War II. Anna Smith (née Bolling, née Castagne), Binx's mother, who met Jack when she was assigned to work as his nurse in Feliciana Parish. Emily Cutrer (née Bolling), age 65, whom he refers to as his aunt, and main maternal figure, is actually his great aunt. Kate Cutrer, age 25, his aunt's stepdaughter, and therefore his cousin, currently lives with her father and stepmother. When she was 19, in the fall 1955, she and her fiance at the time were in a car crash, and he was killed. Getting on a bus the next morning to go home was the happiest moment of her life. Sharon Kincaid, Binx' secretary, a young woman from Eufala, AL. Uncle Jules Cutrer, Aunt Emily's husband. Was a widower, with his daughter Kate, when Emily married him. Walter Wade is Kate's fiancee, age 33, and a senior partner in a law firm specializing in oil lease law. Originally from Clarksburg, West Virginia, he attended Tulane, where he was a college fraternity brother of Binx. He and Binx also attended prep school together in New Hampshire. Major Themes[edit] A major theme of the book is "the search," and its biggest hindrance, malaise. Film version[edit] During the 1980s Terrence Malick worked on a screen adaptation but eventually dropped it.[7] In December 2005, months after the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, Malick explained, "I don’t think the New Orleans of the book exists anymore."[8] References[edit] ^ "Books Today". The New York Times: 29. May 15, 1961. ^ "First Edition Points to identify The Moviegoer by Walker Percy". www.nbaward.com. Retrieved 2020-05-09. ^ "National Book Awards – 1962". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-03-30. (With essays by Sara Zarr and Tom Roberge from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.) ^ TIME Magazine - ALL-TIME 100 Novels| Retrieved 2020-07-10 ^ "Methuen Books". www.methuen.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-08-07. ^ The Moviegoer: Walker Percy: 9780375701962: Amazon.com: Books ^ "Beyond Jodorowsky's Dune: 10 greatest movies never made". BBC. Retrieved 23 March 2014. ^ Martin, Jeff (12 August 2010). "Malick's Return to Bartlesville". This Land Press. Retrieved 28 June 2019. External links[edit] Wikiquote has quotations related to: The Moviegoer The New Statesman, Stephen Amidon on The Moviegoer, 3 December, 2001. List of titles referenced in the book on MUBI The Moviegoer Summary Awards Preceded by The Waters of Kronos Conrad Richter National Book Award for Fiction 1962 Succeeded by Morte d'Urban J. F. Powers v t e Works by Walker Percy Novels The Moviegoer (1961) The Last Gentleman (1966) Love in the Ruins (1971) Lancelot (1977) The Second Coming (1980) The Thanatos Syndrome (1987) Nonfiction The Message in the Bottle (1975) Lost in the Cosmos (1983) Related articles William Alexander Percy A Confederacy of Dunces v t e National Book Award for Fiction (1950–1974) The Man with the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren (1950) Collected Stories of William Faulkner by William Faulkner (1951) From Here to Eternity by James Jones (1952) Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1953) The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow (1954) A Fable by William Faulkner (1955) Ten North Frederick by John O'Hara (1956) The Field of Vision by Wright Morris (1957) The Wapshot Chronicle by John Cheever (1958) The Magic Barrel by Bernard Malamud (1959) Goodbye, Columbus by Philip Roth (1960) The Waters of Kronos by Conrad Richter (1961) The Moviegoer by Walker Percy (1962) Morte d'Urban by J. F. Powers (1963) The Centaur by John Updike (1964) Herzog by Saul Bellow (1965) The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter by Katherine Anne Porter (1966) The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (1967) The Eighth Day by Thornton Wilder (1968) Steps by Jerzy Kosiński (1969) them by Joyce Carol Oates (1970) Mr. Sammler's Planet by Saul Bellow (1971) The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor (1972) Chimera by John Barth (1973) Augustus by John Williams (1973) Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon (1974) A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer (1974) Complete list (1950–1974) (1975–1999) (2000–2024) Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Moviegoer&oldid=986112382" Categories: 1961 American novels National Book Award for Fiction winning works American philosophical novels Novels by Walker Percy Books about film Alfred A. Knopf books Novels set in New Orleans 1961 debut novels Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikiquote Languages العربية Deutsch Français Edit links This page was last edited on 29 October 2020, at 21:28 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. 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