Posts Tagged ‘longing’

Two Questions about Story

Story draws us in. When life becomes too difficult or we need a break from its monotony, we escape to some other story (hence the strength and all-pervasiveness of the entertainment industry). For me, it is a real treat, after a long day of teaching, relating, studying, and writing, when I pick up a book or Ipad and lose myself in Gilead, Iowa (Marilynne Robinson), medieval Germany (Novalis), or modern day Gotham (following the exploits of a younger James Gordon and Bruce Wayne). These are the cities and towns I currently walk through story. Next week, no doubt, I will have moved on to other times and places, losing myself in tales of adventure, intrigue, injustice, hope, longing, and love.

Walker Percy, Ontological Lapsometers, and the End of the World

Modern man is fragmented and hollow at its core. In modern man’s wake there is often destruction and ruin. Walker Percy’s Love in the Ruins is an hilarious romp through the ruins of modern man’s cathedral, set in a place called Paradise, Louisiana as the world seemingly comes to an end. Dr. Thomas More, a backslidden catholic and womanizer, has created an ontological lapsometer that diagnoses and treats human disorders that threaten to disintegrate society. Unfortunately, if the Lapsometer get’s into the wrong hands, it can also lead to chaos and the breakdown of society. In Percy’s story we read of Dr. More’s womanizing exploits as he prepares for the end of the world and tries to keep his invention from falling into the wrong hands.