Yeah, I've placed this on the back-burner a several times before. Why? Since "Confederacy" takes up such a large portion of my heart, my soul, I absolutely knew in my bones that this, Toole's first effort into novel-writing (& the only other one-- he wrote solely two), would suck. Of course it would. And the beginning trembles, and the plot is thin, and the observations somewhat... pedestrian? But it is nonetheless exactly what John Kennedy Toole fans myself would die for: testament of early brilliance.

And you find it. Oh, boy. The observations belong to a kid similar to the one in "400 Blows." You read about a childhood in less time than it takes to watch that 3 hour movie "Boyhood"! And the one in "Neon Bible" is a sad one, and the ending is brutal. The nine final pages are explosive-- Toole was 16 when he composed this! What a goddamn genius...!!

The book is imperfect, and in that you see so many glimpses of what it takes to turn into a future literary titan. In his poetics, that society dictates lives and plots-- J.K.T. felt trapped and wanted to escape. Escape what? Louisiana? No. I think it was his own mindset. His devastating anti-urge. This, his first novel, is the stuff of dreams. Its a short novel that does not disappoint (it is almost antithetical to his ensemble oeuvre of "Dunces"); it hints at a grief that begins in childhood and ends, perhaps, never. At least this was the case, the tragedy that surrounds, one of the best and most enigmatic American writers of all time.116 s Fernando700 1,095

“Allá en el pueblo se apagaban las luces, y solo quedaban encendidos algunos anuncios de neón en la calle. Podía ver la gran Biblia de neón iluminada en la iglesia del predicador. Quizás también esté encendida esta noche, con sus páginas amarillas, sus letras rojas y la gran cruz en el centro.”

Mucho antes de que John Kennedy Toole fuera premiado con un Premio Pullitzer, mucho antes de la infatigable lucha de su madre por lograr que su aclamadísima novela “La conjura de los necios” se publicara, tiempo antes de su suicidio en 1969, y tres lustros antes de esa novela, Toole escribió “La Biblia de neón” a la edad de quince años en 1954 con un aplomo y genialidad propios de los escritores consagrados.
Esta novela, que difiere completamente de la segunda, narra en primera persona la vida de David, el protagonista principal, desde sus cinco años hasta los dieciséis y está ambientada en la zona rural de Mississippi.
Lo acompañan en la primera parte de esta travesía su padre, su madre y su particularísima tía Mae quien se transformará en el segundo personaje más importante de la novela.
Contada a modo de ”bildungsroman”, los recuerdos que han quedado clavados en la mente y el corazón de David, y con remembranzas pero nunca con rencor, la novela pasa de la añoranza propia de cualquiera de las de Charles Dickens (sin envidiarles nada) hasta llegar a los acontecimientos a partir de un declive generado por los sucesos que va viviendo el personaje (la muerte de su padre en la guerra, un amor truncado, un episodio sangriento), llegando a un final triste que nos llevará a sentir conmiseración por David y su vida sin brillo, desdichas y soledad.
La novela también contiene en forma intrínseca una crítica al fanatismo religioso representado en la figura del pastor Bobbie Lee Taylor y también la alusión a temas urticantes como lo son el racismo, propio de los estados del sur en esa época como también el sexual y el social.
Como indica el autor W. Kenneth Holditch en el prólogo del libro, a quien la madre de Toole, Thelma Toole le cediera los derechos de publicación de las dos novelas de su hijo, el 26 de marzo de 1969, agobiado por tantos rechazos de editores de publicar “La conjura de los necios”, John Kennedy Toole estacionó su auto en un pueblito llamado Biloxi, conectó una manguera desde el caño de escape al interior de su auto y se dejó morir.
Esa irremediable pérdida privó a la literatura mundial y a nosotros los lectores de un autor que se habría cansado de escribir novelas maravillosas.
Una verdadera pena, John. Descansa en paz.favorites49 s Ian "Marvin" Graye907 2,427

CRITIQUE:

Bittersweet Sixteen

It would be a significant literary achievement to write a convincing novel from the perspective of a sixteen year old narrator. It would be an even greater achievement, as here, if the author too was sixteen years old.

This novel is relatively straightforward in the way it unravels the plot. It's conventional and linear, until at the end you discover that it's actually circular. However, "Stoner", one thing it does well is create pathos, although in this case there is nothing self-pitying about it. The novel creates empathy for the simple poor people who are struggling to build a good life in the context of not just poverty, but social ostracism.

The Sanctimoney of the Rich and Righteous Conformist

The characters in "Neon Bible" aspire to a life that happens to be different from those around them. Aunt Mae, in particular (without the model of whom it might be inferred there would be no "Neon Bible" or "A Confederacy of Dunces"), wants to resume her career as a singer and actor. David's father, Frank, plants some pine seeds on the mountain that reverse the destruction of the forests to build yet more identical white picket fence residences. His mother does her best to bring him up as a decent person despite her failing health and desperate lack of funds.



Gina Rowlands as Aunt Mae in the 1995 Terence Davies film of the novel

The novel scorns and punishes the scorners, especially those who proclaim from the pulpit of the preacher. It finds in Christianity as practised in the south of the United States (rural Mississippi) an hypocrisy that is incompatible with the actual tenets of the religion. There is no sympathy for or empathy with anyone's neighbour in this rural valley community, unless they are exactly you, a mindless, compliant believer: "If you were different from anybody in town, you had to get out. That's why everybody was so much a." The 16 year old narrator effectively skewers the judgemental self-righteousness of some deplorable religious and political fraternities in America.

Religious Correctness

It's so easy to forget that, before so-called "political correctness" existed, society laboured under the oppressive weight of religious correctness (how often do we hear people banging on about Christian values?) for centuries. It was the most powerful tool of conformism in society. Ironically, it's this very perspective that is largely behind the conservative attack on and demonisation of political correctness, which after all is based on the Christian premise of "treat others as you would have them treat you."

The novel is carefully constructed and well-written, apart from a few inelegant adolescent sentences. At only 162 pages, it deserves to be an American classic. Highly recommended.


SOUNDTRACK:

Lou Reed & John Cale - "Small Town"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6L0U...

You Am I - "Damage"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P5Um...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auyRh...

Buffalo Tom - "Taillights Fade"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEjmJ...

read-2016 -4-stars ...more40 s Sinem A.452 258

"Al?klar Birli?i" ni geçen sene okumu? sadeli?ine ve anti kahraman?n?n güzelli?ine hayran kalm??t?m.
yazar?n bu kitaptan ba?ka sadece bir kitab? daha oldu?una üzülmü?tüm. Erken ya?ta intihar etmesi, ya?ay??? yazara daha çok ilgi göstermeme neden olmu?tu. Sadece bir kitab?n? okuyabildi?im için üzgündüm.
Taa ki bir arkada??m bana bu kitab? hediye edene kadar. Neon Bible in Türkçeye çevrilmi? olmas?na sevinmi?tim ama o kitab?n hediye edilmi? olmas?na çok ama çok daha fazla sevindim.

Kitab? deh?etle okudum. Bir insan 16 ya??nda böyle bir kitab? nas?l yazar. 1930 larda Amerikan?n güneyinde geçen bu öykü sadele?ine çok kitapta rastlamad???m bir dille yaz?lm?? ama o sade anlat?m?n alt?nda öyle ?eyler var ki insan yutkunmadan edemiyor. Kitab?n önsözü de bugün art?k örne?ine çok rastalayamayaca??m?z ve kitaba yak???r sadelikte yaz?lm??.
Ne kadar erken gitmi? Toole, ya?asayd? neler yazacakt? diye dü?ünmeden edemiyorum ben de. karanl?ktan-inciler30 s Jenna ? ? ?865 1,531

"If somebody got to hate something and he was the right person, everybody had to hate it too, or people began to hate the ones who didn't hate it."

John Kennedy Toole wrote this novel when he was just fifteen years old, though it wasn't published until 20 years after his death by suicide at the age of thirty-one.

His mother went from publisher to publisher until she found one who saw the brilliance in A Confederacy of Dunces (which won a Pulitzer Prize) and agreed to publish. Later she found this manuscript, though due to legal issues, it wasn't published until after her death.

I was surprised by the quality of writing from a fifteen year old. It could have used a little tidying up but it's still a terrific and insightful novella.

It's set in the 1940s and is about a kid named David. His showgirl aunt comes to live with them and young David can't help but notice the judgmentalness of the people in his small Southern town.

As he gets older, he sees it more and more, noticing how anyone who is different in any way is targeted for ridicule and is shunned.

Most people in this town are religious and he sees how some of these people use their religion to justify their hatred and treatment of those they deem beneath them.

Worst of all is the Baptist preacher: "I was getting tired about what the preacher called Christian. Anything he did was Christian, and the people in his church believed it, too. If he stole some book he didn't from the library, or made the radio station play only part of the day on Sunday, or took somebody off to the state poor home, he called it Christian. I never had much religious training, and I never went to Sunday school because we didn't belong to the church when I was old enough to go, but I thought I knew what believing in Christ meant, and it wasn't half the things the preacher did."

Reading this book, I kept wondering what all the author might have accomplished and written if he hadn't died so young. I wonder if there were other manuscripts that he destroyed before his death, leaving only The Neon Bible and Confederacy of Dunces behind.

I also couldn't help but wonder if Toole felt "different" than the people in his town and was treated badly because of it, or perhaps he was made miserable by having to hide his "differences". Did this in some way lead to his suicide?

Aside from being well written and insightful, The Neon Bible is an interesting story and young David is a character you can't help but and feel sympathy for. There's not a lot of action. The story is propelled by David's insights into how and why so many of the adults around him need to raise themselves above other people and cast them aside because of what they see as differences.

It's well worth reading if any of this interests you. It's only 162 pages and a quick read. bildungsroman classics fiction29 s Oscar2,046 532

Da pena pensar dónde podría haber llegado John Kennedy Toole de no haberse suicidado a tan temprana edad. Sin lugar a dudas era un genio. 'La Biblia de neón' fue la primera novela que escribió, siendo apenas un adolescente, y sólo puedo decir que es una obra con fuerza, con imágenes indelebles que permanecen a fuego en la memoria tras varias horas después de su lectura.

Toole nos cuenta la historia de David y de su familia en un pueblo sureño de Estados Unidos, cuya población, o la mayor parte de ella, se deja influenciar fácilmente por su predicador. La novela está narrada en primera persona por David, un adolescente que viaja en tren no sabemos hacia adónde. A través de David, conoceremos a sus padres, y sobre todo su relación con la tía Mae, una mujer algo llamativa y con un gran corazón, que escandaliza a todo el pueblo con sus actitudes.

Las impresiones que deja la lectura de 'La Biblia de neón' son de soledad, compasión y tristeza, pero también de una enorme rabia, por la mezquindad e hipocresía de la gente.

En definitiva, una gran novela.5-estrellas 6-estrellas-obras-maestras drama ...more22 s L.S. PopovichAuthor 2 books387

It can't compare to CoD but it was a fun read, best enjoyed as an appetizer to Toole's masterpiece. He might have been a great writer in an alternate universe. Instead he gave us 2 posthumous and quirky works. This youthful effort is both nostalgic and generic. One must always wonder how much editorial rewriting went on behind the scenes when so many years intervened between the author's death and the publisher's efforts.

The self-doubt is more heavy-handed in this one than in Confederacy, which is really becoming required reading in American fiction these days, despite its detractors. This is an offshoot, an unnecessary sidetrack, but when it is the only other piece of fiction he delivered, worth a look-see. There is no way to truly understand the author's life and troubles now, we can only intimate how such a fate produced these two disparate works.

The novel itself is digestible, quintessentially American in flavor, strange and readable, if not memorable, at least bittersweet and raw.4-star american short-novel21 s Larry76 8,688

Just ok. I struggled to get interested in this book, found myself grinding through it just to finish. Disappointed, because Dunces is one of my favorite of all time.17 s Toby846 364

I really wanted to this, I really don't want to criticise the writing of the teenage John Kennedy Toole, but the fact is that this is a book that was only published because of greed. It could have used an editor but mostly it could have used not being written by a 16 year old. He was clearly a very talented young man, his writing is beyond anything I can imagine a 16 year old writing today lololololjkjkjkjkjk but still this reads as though written by a naive boy.

Neon Bible has been compared to the work of Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty and Carson McCullers but having seen the pleasure these writers have given GR friends Jeffrey and Melanie I can't imagine they are on a whole different level to this.

For those intrigued by the only other book written by a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist only.lit15 s Jean Ra300 1 follower

Una novela de lo más lúcida que, sin muchas pretensiones, desde lo cotidiano, esboza la atmósfera de estulticia y fanatismo de las pequeñas comunidades del sur de Estados Unidos. Lo que más sorprende es que el malogrado Toole escribió esta novela al acabar el instituto. Según los tópicos literarios, todos los adolescentes son entusiastas de Jules Verne y sueñan con aventuras y temas fantásticos. Toole no, él se saltó el libro de estilo y cultivó esta novelita, que se sostiene en una mirada desencantada respecto una comunidad rural y retrata a través de la infancia y la adolescencia de David, su narrador, los años previos a la II Guerra Mundial y los inmediatos, un tiempo con cartillas de racionamiento y de fuerte rechazo a lo diferente.

En cambio, el lema que sí cobra aquí importancia es el de "pueblo pequeño, infierno grande". La tía Mae, sin duda la principal estrella de la función, viene a ser todo lo que esa comunidad detesta y por eso la familia de David, el narrador, es puesta en el disparadero. Toole deja en una región ambigua si el despido de su padre quizás se debe a esta circunstancia, deja espacio al lector para que termine de unir esos puntos según su juicio, que interprete si efectivamente el fanatismo alcanza hasta esa magnitud o bien es otra piedra en el camino de esta desafortunada familia, que tras el despido del padre no pueden pagar las cuotas de la iglesia, se convierten en marginados y terminan apartados dentro de ese pueblo, exponiéndose a un destino que progresivamente se va oscureciendo.

He leído bastantes novelas firmadas por gente mucho mayor que Toole y que sin embargo no obstante no muestran ni la mitad de madurez que lo que el autor, que la escribió con 15 o 16 años. Me pregunto si el manuscrito final no tuvo algún tipo de arreglo mayor de alguna mano profesional que terminara de pulir o redondear el texto póstumo. Si no es así, me quito el sombrero frente a la brillantez de su autor.united-states15 s Núria530 636

Se ve que John Kennedy Toole escribió 'La Biblia de neón' cuando tenía 16 años y que luego la rechazó porque el estilo le parecía demasiado juvenil. Pero a mí me ha encantado, precisamente por esa mirada infantil e ingenua que tiene. Como todo está narrado precisamente desde el punto de vista de un niño que luego se convertirá en adolescente, que encima siempre ha recibido una educación muy rudimentaria y que siempre ha vivido aislado, el estilo simple, directo, repetitivo y algo limitado funciona perfectamente. De hecho, yo todo el rato que lo he leído me he imaginado que lo había escrito a los 20 años imitando un estilo adolescente. Es un estilo efectivo y fascinante en su simplicidad.

David es un niño que vive en un pueblo de mala muerte en el Sur, durante los años 30-50. Como pasa en todas las novelas sureñas, su familia es más pobre que las ratas. Hay los típicos padres: la madre muy buena e ingenua, y el padre un poco/bastante bruto. Y hay el típico personaje excéntrico de turno: Tía Mae, que había trabajado como cantante/artista, pero que ahora ya se ha hecho demasiado vieja y que todo el pueblo critica, por culpa de sus excentricidades (centradas básicamente en su forma de vestir), y que sin duda es una delicia de personaje. Pero también lo es, por supuesto, el señor Farney, el maestro culto que vive con otro hombre.

La guerra inevitablemente tiene su papel importante y hay el no menos inevitable fracaso amoroso. Y aunque todo parezca típico en teoría, resulta realmente fresco a la práctica. Lo mejor probablemente es la lucidez con la que critica la hipocresía religiosa. Me gusta la idea de que la hipocresía religiosa es tan evidente que incluso un niño no muy avispado puede percibirla. En cambio, los que están metidos en ella no. Me encanta que critique la hipocresía religiosa con una ironía sutil. Aunque no sea hilarante todo el rato, tiene momentos muy divertidos, pero su ironía es muy diferente al sarcasmo de 'La conjura de los necios'. Por esto si me dan a escoger entre mamá y papá, creo que me quedaría con 'La Biblia de neón', porque su ironía sutil me gusta más que el sarcasmo agresivo y grotesco de 'La conjura'.

Me encanta que el protagonista sea tan introvertido, a veces bordeando el autismo, que él se entere más o menos de lo que pasa a su alrededor, pero que casi nunca participe, y cuando participa no acabe de conocer las reglas y la pifie. Me encantan detalles como que sepa que sus compañeros están haciendo bromas sexuales pero que no acabe de saber qué significan. O que la maestra vaya de excursión al Palacio de Justicia y los gamberros se porten fatal y ella, que es medio sorda, no se entere de nada, de tal modo que cuando después reciben una carta del Palacio de Justicia quejándose del mal comportamiento de sus alumnos, ella se enfade y responda con otra carta diciéndoles que se deben haber equivocado de escuela. Y son detalles así que hacen que esta novela sea tan real y me encante tanto.
2007 5-favoritos literatura-en-ingles ...more13 s Danesda215 254

Toole fue un genio desde tan joven y con esta, su primera obra nos deja claro la calidad de escritor que perdimos con su suicidio, excelente.

video reseña completa en:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZzDi02lPqE/

31 s Fuchsia Groan162 194

Sin llegar al nivel de maestría alcanzado en La conjura de los necios, es tremendo que Toole fuese capaz de escribir esta novela con tan solo 16 años, que alguien de esa edad fuese capaz de diseccionar así ese pueblo sureño, a sus habitantes y su grado de fanatismo, con ese nivel de ironía certera. Maravilloso.contemporánea11 s Cristina BonceaAuthor 7 books724

Biblia de neon a fost pentru mine o surpriz? literar? care a picat exact la fix în c?l?toria mea de cititor. De la primele cuvinte mi-am dat seama c? o s? fie o poveste care îmi va r?mâne în minte. Simplitatea stilului acestui autor care a scris dou? romane în scurta sa via?? (ambele publicate postum) a reu?it s? m? poarte printr-un amalgam de emo?ii pe care le voi detalia mai jos.

Îl avem în prim-plan pe David, un copila? dintr-un ora?el din Mississippi care urm?re?te interac?iunile adul?ilor din jurul s?u cu mare b?gare de seam? ?i reu?e?te s? se desprind? de obiceiurile create din genera?ie în genera?ie prin intermediul traumelor suferite. Prima dintre acestea este faptul c? tat?l s?u î?i pierde jobul, iar familia lui – format? din mam? ?i o m?tu?? cu o reputa?ie nu tocmai bun? în vale – este nevoit? s? se mute pe deal, într-o cas? s?r?c?cioas? cu acoperi?ul defect. Nici la ?coal? nu reu?e?te s? î?i fac? prea mul?i prieteni, fiind un copil retras, care duce o via?? diferit? de a celorlal?i copii din cauza problemelor financiare din familie. Totul se învârte în jurul bisericii locale ?i a bibliei de neon care str?luce?te noaptea deasupra ei – cei care nu sunt înscri?i în condic? (lucru pentru care se percepe o tax?), nu fac cu adev?rat parte din comunitate.

Întreaga poveste ne este spus? din perspectiva acestui copil care ajunge spre sfâr?itul scurtului roman la vârsta de 16 ani. Etapele maturiz?rii vin gr?mad? peste el, amestecate, f?r? s?-?i urmeze cursul s?n?tos al unei vie?i obi?nuite. Se confrunt? cu bullying-ul, atât din partea celor mici, cât ?i a celor mari ?i este nevoit s? suporte condi?ii grele de trai, lucru care îl face s? interac?ioneze cu o fat? pentru prima oar? abia dup? ce termin? clasa a VIII-a. Vocea lui nu este nici optimist?, nici pesimist?. David e un bun observator al lumii înconjur?toare, îns? deseori ne comunic? ?i propriile opinii deloc puerile. Tot ce î?i dore?te este normalitatea, îns? destinul îi este destul de curând potrivnic.

Biblia de neon devine o poveste sângeroas?, ce cuprinde mor?ile a mai multor personaje. Dou? dintre ele mor aproape simultan, ceea ce închide cercul narativ. Primul capitol ne stârne?te curiozitatea de a afla încotro se îndreapt? protagonistul cu trenul, iar ultimele dou? reveleaz? motivul. De acum adolescent, David trebuie s? poarte mult? responsabilitate pe umeri, ceea ce deseori îl cople?e?te. Între locul lui de munc? la drogherie ?i îngrijirea mamei sale, o capitulare de un fel sau altul este de a?teptat. „Tanti Mae”, cum este botezat? ruda ce vine s? locuiasc? împreun? cu familia sa la începutul romanului, joac? un rol important în punctul culminant al pove?tii, fiind poate chiar elementul declan?ator care conduce c?tre deznod?mânt.

Ce am mai g?sit frumos la acest roman este descrierea atât de simpl? a naturii, care nu se limiteaz? doar la adjective pentru diverse plante, ci conecteaz? starea de spirit a protagonistului cu mediul înconjur?tor. Nu am citit multe c?r?i în care aceast? tehnic? s? fie la fel de bine pus? în practic?, ceea ce a fost un alt bonus pentru mine ?i m-a condus s? dau romanului punctaj maxim. Îmi place foarte tare atunci când o poveste este spus? din perspectiva unui copil sau adolescent, iar pe David ajungem s?-l cunoa?tem foarte bine pân? la final. Am empatizat cu el pe tot parcursul pove?tii ?i mi-e clar c? nu ar fi putut lua decizii diferite pentru a ajunge la un rezultat diferit. Ultimele câteva zeci de pagini transform? totul într-o dram? în adev?ratul sens al cuvântului, lucru la care nu m? a?teptam ?i pe care iar??i l-am apreciat.

Faptul c? romanul a fost scris de autor la doar 16 ani îmi încheie oarecum pledoaria. De?i m? simt mereu vinovat? s? citesc scriituri pe care autorii lor au vrut s? le vâre sub un pre? sau le-au desconsiderat, sunt totodat? recunosc?toare c? Biblia de neon a v?zut totu?i lumina tiparului ?i a ajuns în mâinile mele. Înc? de la început mi-am spus „asta este o carte corect?”, scris? cu emo?ie autentic?, care r?zbate printre pagini. Chiar ?i f?r? finalul surprinz?tor ar fi primit un rating mare de la mine pentru c? am ajuns s? apreciez mult mai tare c?r?ile nepreten?ioase, care vor doar s? induc? cititorului o stare de spirit ?i s?-l poarte printr-o poveste în mod ingenuu. Este exact genul de roman care îmi este pe plac ?i abia a?tept s? citesc ?i Conjura?ia imbecililor, cea care l-a consacrat pe Toole, de?i post-mortem.

S? fii atât de con?tient de tot ce se întâmpl? în jurul t?u ?i totu?i s? ai mâinile legate – iat? o poveste despre cenzura religioas? ?i prejudec??ile celor care urmeaz? lideri orbe?te. Asta înseamn? s? te na?ti într-un loc în care nu ai nicio ?ans? de a r?zbi dac? nu-l p?r?se?ti la timp. Asta înseamn? s? fii înghi?it de un sistem mai mare decât tine, de un univers ale c?rui c?i nu le po?i în?elege, ci doar urma. ?i, nu în ultimul rând, asta înseamn? s? cau?i o cale de evadare ?i s? prime?ti r?spunsul într-un mod dureros. Personajele din roman pot fi întâlnite ca tipologii în orice loc te-ai duce, fie c? e vorba de un s?tuc uitat de lume sau de o capital? european?. Suferin?a care se propag? de la unul la altul din cauza fricii ?i ignoran?ei este covâr?itoare. Toate aceste lucruri le-am resim?it odat? cu David, care reu?e?te în cele din urm? s? se desprind? de acest blestem. Tare mi-ar pl?cea s? ?tiu ce i s-a întâmplat în continuare…

Recomand Biblia de neon pentru cei care caut? sentimente profunde ?i pove?ti realiste, cât ?i celor care în?eleg cum e s? te sim?i mic ?i neputincios într-o lume nedreapt?.american sad14 s Hákon GunnarssonAuthor 28 books154

John Kennedy Toole was 16 years old when he wrote this novel. It’s one of only two novels he completed in his lifetime, the other being the better known A Confederacy of Dunces.

I remember a young girl in one of the writers groups I belong to, who asked once if we could take a young writer seriously. As I recall most of the people told the girl they would, if the writing was good. This is the novel I think I would recommend to anyone that can’t take a young writers seriously because of their age.

It is written with considerable spark. It’s not flawless, and it’s not a masterpiece. I’d probably have gone with three and a half star if half stars were available here on goodreads, but let’s say four stars. The thing is, it is pretty good first novel. It’s about small towns mentality, and religious hypocrisy. It revolves around a boy who is growing up in a small town. His family lives on the outskirts of the society, (not all the time, but large part of it) so the boy sees the town from a different angle than those more central.

As a novel it is fairly well done, and the story is an interesting one. There is a certain awkwardness in the way it builds up. Some might say this shows the writers age, but to me it has more to do with the fact that it is a first novel. It shows promise. It shows that even though the writer was young when he wrote this, the reader can still take this novel seriously.

And it actually makes me even more interested in reading his other novel, which I have been told many times is a very good one.american-literature9 s Sub_zero696 307

La Biblia de neón dista mucho de ser la obra maestra que es La conjura de los necios, pero sí que ofrece pistas del apabullante potencial que tenía John Kennedy Toole como narrador. El escritor norteamericano ofrece en esta novela, la primera que escribió siendo apenas un adolescente, un retrato brutal del fanatismo religioso como elemento de dominación a través de la mirada inocente e ingenua de un niño criado en el seno de una familia humilde y un tanto excéntrica. Sus observaciones y experiencias resultan demoledoras a la par que emotivas, y su apasionante evolución como personaje concluye en una vertiginosa escalada de violencia que te deja sencillamente devastado. Sencilla y cautivadora a partes iguales, La Biblia de neón funciona igual de bien como novela de iniciación que como excepcional radiografía de la Norteamérica profunda, pero es en su disección del personaje principal ante los estragos de la vida cuando más brilla la obra de Toole.reto-201710 s Dani Dányi515 71

A könyvnek a legérdekesebb része a publikációtörténete, azt hiszem. A szerz? nem adta közre els? regényét, viszont a második, a Tökfilkók szövetsége olyan sikeres lett, hogy Toole gyorsan, fiatalon meg is halt, ezután pedig szerz? édesanyja 1980-valahányban valamilyen megfontolásból mégis közreata ezt a Southern Gothic m?fajú korai kéziratot. Nem mondom, én büszke lennék egy ilyen els?regény-próbálkozásnak, de azért ez nem lett egy túlságosan érdekes könyv: fiatal elbeszél? kissé avatatlanul szemléli kamaszodókorának eseményeit és szerepl?it: család, társadalom, miegyéb. Gondolom egy beavatódás-regény, egy coming of age m? lehet, de nem akartam túlfeszíteni a dolgot: 50 oldal után sem kezdett jobban érdekelni David és környezete, úgyhogy inkább meghajlok a szerz? bölcs ítélete el?tt, és hagytam feledésbe merülni. Pedig a szöveg tisztességes, Pék Zoltán szokás szerint jól fordít. (Gondolom azért t?nhetett jó ötletnek magyarul kiadni, mert készült bel?le egy film is? A borító erre enged következtetni.)
Na sebaj: az év végére jutott egy ilyen próbálkozás is. A Confederacy of Dunces is ott van az olvasandók-polcomon (ford. Göncz Árpád), majd jól elcsodálkozhatok, mennyivel jobb lett a debütáló mesterm?, mint a posztumusz fiókpréda.9 s bobbygwAuthor 4 books14

Toole committed suicide at the age of 32, leaving behind two unpublished novels and an impressively determined mother who succeeded – after much badgering – in gaining the novelist Walker Percy’s interest and support in the manuscript of A Confederacy of Dunces. As we know, this was then published to instant and great acclaim and has been continuously in print ever since, and translated into numerous languages.

While The Neon Bible was in fact written before A Confederacy of Dunces, it only came to light during the successful reception of the later novel, and its publication was delayed by some years because of legal wrangling involving Toole’s mother, the publishers and the courts.

Nonetheless, the novel is an astonishing achievement, not least because it was written, it seems, when Toole was barely a teenager. It will arguably become regarded as a classic of contemporary American fiction, and a classic of Bildungsroman literature. It is a haunting and poetic evocation of a boy’s loss of innocence in the rural America of the 1930s and 40s. There are echoes of Mark Twain, John Cheever, J. D. Salinger and S. E. Hinton, to name but a few and, impressively, the ‘voice’ and identity of the central character, the young boy, Dave, are as distinct and compelling as any by those others.

In a series of linking memories we learn about Dave and his painful trials and tribulations growing up. His mother becomes emotionally unstable when her husband returns in a coffin, from fighting in Europe during the second world war; his Aunt Mae, an eccentric, once-travelling singer, and Dave’s only real friend and companion, discards him for the sake of her infatuation with a 70-year-old fiddle-playing boyfriend and the temptations of Nashville; and his local preacher inflicts a destructive hypocrisy upon him (in fact, it is this preacher’s church that displays the tacky, monolithic, ‘neon bible’). As if these weren’t enough, yet more troubles ensue, accumulating to the point that he is compelled to escape to the city, leaving innocence in his wake, and only the memory of bitter experience for reflection.

Juxtaposed, Toole’s two novels differ in style, language and humour – understandably, as he was just 13 or so when he wrote The Neon Bible, whereas he wrote A Confederacy of Dunces as an adult. In the latter novel, we have the fantastic character of Ignatius J. Reilly, a towering, Rabelaisain and Falstaff- figure, battling against the dim-witted and the short-sighted in his quest for truth, beauty, and a bountiful supply of hot dogs, his favourite food. The language therein is rich and boisterous, the style sweeping in its intensity. In The Neon Bible, Dave is the centre, holding the novel together with his rural speech; his gentle, graceful and easy language complementing the impression we have of him and his world. Even so, their lives and their principles are, arguably, the same: both value Platonic ideals above all else; both are outsiders, most often alone – feeling the loss of their innocence – and reflect a pervading sadness that is at the very heart of their lives. There is no question that the publication of this, his only other fiction, underlines the awful tragedy of Toole’s death.fiction8 s Evan Leach462 145

This was a solid to good coming-of-age story written by John Kennedy Toole at the age of 16. Toole is better known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novel A Confederacy of Dunces, his only other published work. Neon Bible is a piece of juvenilia that only saw the light of day due to the smashing success of Dunces, and was written by a raw and developing talent. There is room for Toole to grow as a writer across the board (plotting, characterization, prose, etc.). That said, this is an extremely impressive accomplishment for a writer of 16. Toole has crafted a solid bildungsroman with some fine literary grace notes. Throughout, Toole's sensitivity, perception, and intelligence are all on display.

I was not a huge fan of Dunces, which didn't tickle my funnybone the way it has for so many other readers. But Toole's talent is undeniable, and this book makes me wonder what kind of novelist he could have become if he hadn't taken his own life at the age of 31. It's a pity we will never know. 3.0 stars.1980-1989 american-literature literary-fiction ...more7 s Mostafa407 40

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