Walker Percy Remembered: A Portrait in the Words of Those Who Knew Him

Harwell, a professor of English at Thailand's Thammasat University, brings together 13 interviews with intimates of the late Southern novelist Walker Percy. Among them are Percy's brothers; the proprietor of a New Orleans bookstore; and the Percys' housekeeper, Carrie Cyprian. Certain themes run through many of the conversations: Percy's involvement in civil rights and other community issues; his commitment to and questions about Catholicism; and his struggles with depression. Lee Barrios, who worked as Percy's assistant for a few years, describes the writer's comfort with existential mystery. She also offers a unique perspective on Percy's writing process, which included countless revisions. The novelist's lifelong friend, writer and historian Shelby Foote, tells anecdotes from their childhood. The portrait that emerges is of a flawed man—he could lose his temper over trivial things, and friend and attorney Nikki Barringer allows that Percy had a "streak of homophobia.... He believed that it was a sickness." As a whole, these conversations not only shed light on a great American author, but also plunge readers into the rhythms of folksy Southern storytelling. Percy fans will relish this small jewel of a book. (Sept. 4)