Pilgrim in the Ruins: A Life of Walker Percy

by Jay Tolson

The first major biography of Walker Percy traces his literary career back to his childhood days spent carousing with Flannery O'Connor, William Faulkner, and Eudora Welty on his uncle's plantation. 17,500 first printing.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simply marvelous biography of Walker Percy plus so much more.
This book gives the reader a most informed understanding of the history of the South, mores and personality of Southerners, and the influences on Percy's development, and along the way there are insights into details of the books Percy has written.
Pilgrim in the Ruins is well written and reader friendly; and, if you love Walker Percy, you will eat up every page and feel grateful to Mr. Tolson for having done such a good job.

[Drew Norwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-done. I don’t know if this is the best biography of Walker Percy (there are several other options that I haven’t read), but it is a good one.

The title of the book aptly captures the theme of Walker Percy’s life and his work: modern man as "a wayfarer and a pilgrim” in the ruins of civilization. For Percy, man is most certainly a pilgrim, even when our culture views him more as an “organism in an environment”. And this pilgrimage is not a gentle saunter along the path of life. It’s a great struggle, a battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil. And for Percy, the Christian faith is the only answer to such a predicament.

[Charles Bechtel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Same opinion as already recently stated. Off, though. reading about a novelist I have yet to read. A first.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever curious about why novelist Walker Percy is so identified with the philosophy of existentialism I picked up this biography to find out more. Yes, it does provide some insights. Characters in his novels seek to escape the quiet desperation of their lives. When both of his parents died while he was still in his youth, he went, along with his two brothers, and his cousin, “ Uncle Will,” took them in as a surrogate father. Both he and his hometown, Greenville, Miss., had a profound influence on Walker's approach to life. He witnessed first-hand the destructive consequences of the southerner's social predicament, a despair that could lead a person to suicide as it did his own father. And later, on a trip through the vastness of the American West, he saw, ala Kierkegaard, the despair of pure possibility. Walker had an icy, cold side that frightened his friend, historian Shelby Foote. Indeed, many scholarly types considered him an intellectual renegade, just as they viewed existentialist Kierkegaard. Thanks, Jay Tolson for clarifying my views of Walker Percy as an existentialist.

[Father Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tolson offers a thorough and sympathetic portrait of Percy's life and the aims of his literary and philosophical output. An initially off-putting broad history of the Percy family and their influence in Birmingham and Greenville is de rigeur for a literary biography, and readers that persevere will be rewarded with access to a deep mine of experience and reflection that Percy offers to an imploding culture. A few slips here and there by Tolson indicate his lack of familiarity with the teachings and practices of the Roman Catholicism Percy embraced and lived out till his death, and at times this no doubt colors Percy's own beliefs, but overall this biography left me deeply engaged with the mystery and wisdom of Walker Percy and eager to dive into his writings even more enthusiastically.

[Rob Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read and enjoyed the Moviegoer in high school and have read 3 of his other books since so I thought I'd read this biography. I found it interesting throughout. Tolson gives the man's history but also provides insight into the books and essays along with public and critical reception. A thorough and insightful book.

[Caleb Hofheins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big fan of Walker Percy. Fascinating account of his life and very interesting commentary on the south. The latter part of the book that detailed his writings was a little too drawn out.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walker Percy is a complicated man with a complicated past. The story of his early life in the context of the South is 5 star material. I thought it bogged down once he started publishing books. Tolson seems to lose the narrative flow in the later third. But his analysis and shared sense of humor with Percy help make this enjoyable.

[Justin Pitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply put, this is the best biography I have ever read. The writing style is superb, and Tolson has an unbelievable grasp of his subject. If you are a Walker Percy fan, you must read this book.