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Audiobooks > Fiction >  Classics > Wise Blood
Wise Blood Audiobook, by Flannery O’Connor Play Audiobook Sample

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3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 (3.00) - 9,721 customer ratings
Wise Blood Audiobook, by Flannery O’Connor Play Audiobook Sample
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Author: Flannery O’Connor Narrator: Bronson Pinchot Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Audio Length: Release Date: July 2010 Format: Unabridged Audiobook Delivery: Instant Download ISBN: 9781481553872
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Publisher Description

Flannery O’Connor’s astonishing and haunting first novel is a classic of twentieth-century literature. It is the story of Hazel Motes, a twenty-two-year-old caught in an unending struggle against his innate, desperate faith. He falls under the spell of a “blind” street preacher named Asa Hawks and his degenerate fifteen-year-old daughter. In an ironic, malicious gesture of his own non-faith, and to prove himself a greater cynic than Hawks, Hazel founds The Church of God Without Christ, but is still thwarted in his efforts to lose God. He meets Enoch Emery, a young man with “wise blood,” who leads him to a mummified holy child and whose crazy maneuvers are a manifestation of Hazel’s existential struggles. This tale of redemption, retribution, false prophets, blindness, and wisdom gives us one of the most riveting characters in American fiction.

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Quotes

  •  “No other major American writer of our century has constructed a fictional world so energetically and forthrightly charged by religious investigation.”

    - New Yorker

  • “There is in Flannery O’Connor a fierceness of literary gesture, an angriness of observation, a facility for catching, as an animal eye in the wilderness, cunningly and at one sharp glance, the shape and detail and animal intention of enemy and foe.”

    - New York Times Book Review

  • “Bronson Pinchot turns in a virtuosic performance of O’Connor's darkly comic classic first novel…Pinchot’s narration is superb: dynamic, well paced, and infused with a perfect Southern drawl. Instead of simply creating voices for the characters, Pinchot embodies them…and the entire cast is likewise brought to life by Pinchot’s precise and perceptive characterizations and his brilliant evocation of O’Conner’s grotesqueries.”

    - Publishers Weekly (starred audio review)

  • “I was more impressed by Wise Blood than any novel I have read for a long time. Her picture of the world is literally terrifying. Kafka is almost the only one of our contemporaries who has achieved such effects. I have tremendous admiration for the work of this young writer.”

    - Caroline Gordon, noted American novelist and literary critic

Awards

  • Publishers Weekly Best Audiobook • Fiction2010

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Customer Reviews

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  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " I didn't like Flannery O'Connor for a long time, but after having taken a fresh look at her stuff, I can't figure out why. This is quite good, religious in an unexpected way, and a lot creepier and more surreal than I'd expected. "

    - Leonard, 2/19/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Eh -Didnt really get it. "

    - KristiJ, 2/17/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " This was recommended by my son Nick. I was hesitant, but am glad I picked it up. O'Connor reminded me of Faulkner. You have to love a good Southern Gothic story. The characters are so unusual, the setting is so unsettling, the story is so dark, yet darkly funny. I loved it! And I just found out that John Huston directed a movie based on the book. I am going to have to search it out! "

    - Kathie, 2/11/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Southern U.S. author from 1949. Post-WWII internal upheaval about religion and spiritual belief as the world heals and soldiers come home. Interesting intro to her writing. I need a conversation with someone to work through it more, but I enjoyed it. "

    - Ken, 2/10/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " I loved it but for some reason, reading it was a drag. Maybe it was the typography, or maybe I was too tired, I dunno. Check it out, if you like that southern gothic stuff with blind preachers, devious women and other outcasts. "

    - Juuso, 2/6/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " I understand Flannery O'Connor's religious persuasions and oddball sense of humor, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. "

    - Kevin, 1/28/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Read it! And while you're at it, John Huston made a great movie out of it that you should see too. "

    - Mark, 1/22/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " flannery o'connor cruelly dissects society's outcasts. this is not a woman with a generous view of humanity, which makes it an enjoyable but often depressing experience. despite the modern-gothic subject matter and the occasionally ornate turn of phrase, a swift read. strangely affecting and open to interpretation on different levels. and funny! "

    - mark, 1/21/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " had to read this novel for a southern literature class that I'm taking. Didn't enjoy it at all and had a very hard time understanding the dialogs due to the southern lingo (I'm from the north). A lot of symbolism, I think. "

    - Mary, 1/16/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Well written, interesting characters and situations, but I guess I completely missed the point. It didn't really go anywhere. "

    - David, 1/11/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Quirky and so true to some of characters I've met in the rural South. "

    - Ruth, 1/11/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " This is also a favourite in the library. I love how totally crazy it is , with images that stick with you. I want to reread it soon. "

    - Orianne, 12/16/2013
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " I chose this book because of O'Connor's reputation, but I did not get a whole lot out of it. "

    - Bryan, 11/27/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " read mosta this already in story-form; better as stories, but she's always always so good. "

    - Jenelle, 10/31/2013
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " This I appreciate with all its surgical slashes against this and that and its perfectly grotesque aesthetic. But again, what, please tell me, is the point? "

    - Nick, 10/7/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I thought I would really enjoy this book because I remember being really dazzled by O'Connor's stories. But it kind of went right over my head. It baffled me. I didn't feel like I was getting what she wanted to communicate. The characters were creepy. "

    - Bryn, 10/6/2013
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Heavy in symbolism and other literary trappings, it kind of gets way far up it's own buttnest and then you want to stop. "

    - ben, 9/8/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Strange, discomforting, unusual, thought provoking, well written - one of those books it's good to read, even if you're slightly relieved to get to the end of it. "

    - Joanna, 3/15/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I found this book very odd. At times it was quite funny - good, dark humor -- but mostly it just seemed weired. The characters and situations were grotesque, and consequently the book just wasn't my cup of tea. "

    - Miss, 3/14/2013
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " keep tuned..... "

    - Mel, 2/16/2013
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " I would not have picked up a book like this except that it was by Flannery O'Connor. She is a master of tension, story and characterization. Her word choice seems so natural but is so perfect that it has to be deliberate. "

    - Kate, 4/11/2012
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Flannery O'Connor is terrifying. "

    - Alayna, 12/5/2011
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Further evidence that the South understands what we call surrealism as a kind of hyperreality. Brutal and funny and terrible. "

    - Gena, 11/15/2011
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " I love Flannery O'Connor. I love this book. Some people say that she was at her best in her short stories, and while I would not take a thing a way from her stories, I think this novel pretty near perfect. One of my five or six favorite books. "

    - Grant, 9/11/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " Southern Gothic. You can't beat it. "

    - C.S., 8/5/2011
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5

    " You will never read another book like this. I am reading this because it is summer reading for my son, a junior in high school. "

    - Mischelle, 5/19/2011
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5

    " Amazing. Brilliant. Chilling. In my top ten. One you'll think about months and months later. "

    - Kirin, 5/9/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " I loved the characters and the writing in this book. My only problem with this book is that it read more like a series of connected short stories set chronologically in a book. Sometimes it lacked flow. "

    - Richard, 5/3/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " O'Conner's prose is utterly engaging, her characters vivid, bizarre, and haunted; her theology some sort of Catholicism that apparently is inescapable. She's one of the greats, to be sure, but I find this more caricature than fiction. "

    - Robert, 4/20/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Read this my Sophmore year of college in Philosophy of Religion, with Father Rene McGraw. Wise Blood is a compelling story of a young man's search for God and redemption. The young man, I forget his name, seeks to convert others to a fire and brimstone version of athiesm in which all are sinners. "

    - Michael, 4/10/2011
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Southern writer writing about strange, eccentric people with oddball religious ideas. Not sure what the title represents. "

    - Virginia, 3/27/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " This is a challenging story in the best ways. I very well might have given it only three stars if I didn't have the help of O'Connor's one-paragraph foreword to the second edition. For me, that alone bumps it up at least another star. "

    - Sharonjanelle, 3/25/2011
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " I remember reading this in college--not my favorite; it was weird and dark. "

    - Bonnie, 3/21/2011
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5

    " Text gets 5 stars. This is a great book, one of my favorite "Southern" novels, (what's a "Northern" novel?) but Pinchot's voices get a little similar. And I really couldn't get over that it was Bronson Pinchot reading it. I understand why actors don't want to be pigeon holed. "

    - Bryan, 3/21/2011
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5

    " Yuck. I realize the importance of this novel and the writing is interesting and different, but I found myself rushing through it just so I could get to the end and be done with it. It may be a while before I re-visit Flannery O'Connor. "

    - Rachel, 3/14/2011

About the Author

Flannery O’Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1925. She was awarded the Best of the National Book Awards for Fiction in 2009, and she was the first fiction writer born in the twentieth century to have her works collected and published by the Library of America. When she died at the age of thirty-nine, America lost one of its most gifted writers at the height of her powers.

About the Narrator

Bronson Pinchot, Audible’s Narrator of the Year for 2010, has won Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Awards, AudioFile Earphones Awards, Audible’s Book of the Year Award, and Audie Awards for several audiobooks, including Matterhorn, Wise Blood, Occupied City, and The Learners. A magna cum laude graduate of Yale, he is an Emmy- and People’s Choice-nominated veteran of movies, television, and Broadway and West End shows. His performance of Malvolio in Twelfth Night was named the highlight of the entire two-year Kennedy Center Shakespeare Festival by the Washington Post. He attended the acting programs at Shakespeare & Company and Circle-in-the-Square, logged in well over 200 episodes of television, starred or costarred in a bouquet of films, plays, musicals, and Shakespeare on Broadway and in London, and developed a passion for Greek revival architecture.