Have you read Second Coming by Walker Percy?

I knew that Percy wrote with a Christian viewpoint and this kept me from looking at any of his stuff. But I have read Flannery O’Connor’s work, which also has a Christian bent and I found that I was still able to appreciate her writing.

So I took a chance on Second Coming. I will not be reading anything else by Percy. I have seen reviews that talk about Christian symbolism in the book, but whether or not that is so, it has to be able to stand on its own, which in my opinion it does not.

To spoil the plot (actually it is already spoiled), a wealthy middle aged widower contemplates suicide, but is rescued by a young woman who is a mental asylum escapee with a less than firm grip on reality.

The man initially contemplates setting himeself up as the woman’s guardian, but after having sex with her, decides to marry her instead. If this sounds cheesy, then you have caught my impression. For the book to work, you have to believe in the relationship between the man and the woman and all I could see was some wealthy middle aged man taking advantage of a disturbed young woman. Yuck!