The Neon Bible

This author wrote two books in his short lifetime. Both are worth a special spot in your library so you can re-read again and again!

Other reviews had painted this book as a flawed first work, while rushing to add "...but he was only sixteen!" as though the book needed their defense. (Frankly, this book is plenty good on its own merits; that the author was sixteen at the time is just that much more impressive.) I took this book with me on a business trip, and didn't read it so much as devoured it. The author perfectly captured the voice of a barely literate, barely educated backwoods youth (read into that what you will), rendering it an engrossing page-turning narrative. I won't go so far as to say it's one of my favorite books, but it was a really good book I thoroughly enjoyed. Regardless of what other reviewers have said about the ending, I felt it was an excellent fit and an appropriate conclusion to the book. (Given that the author had a master's degree in English, I anticipate there may have been some symbolism, allegory and/or other tools of deeper meaning at work there, though I rather doubt it, and don't care very much regardless.) In any case, I found it a taut, compelling read, which I enjoyed a great deal more than I've enjoyed slogging through his "masterpiece", A Confederacy of Dunces... but that is another review entirely.

Very reminiscent of Carson McCullers. Simply written, but held my attention the entire time and the fact that it was written when the author was only 15 is mind blowing. Nice twist near the end. Can’t wait to check out Confederacy of Dunces next.

The book was written when the author was 16, very impressive writing for that age, but trying in any way to compare it to his book "The Confederacy of Dunces" is not a reasonable expectation. The book was good, a good story.

I liked this book very much. It has a digestible way of narrating a difficult and emotionally nuanced life and has a compelling writing style. The story takes you away to a remote locale, which is as much a part of the story as the characters. Besides these things, I have to admit that the high grade I gave has to do with the fact that the author wrote this book when he was 16. No typo--16 years old! The observations of the hypocrisy and small-minded viewpoints that are presented are quite amazing. The reason I read this book in the first place is that it's the only other book written by this author, who created the Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, "Confederacy of Dunces,". That book was published and the award given posthumously for that brilliant piece of literature, after Mr. Toole committed suicide. "The Neon Bible", was also published after the author's death because he never considered it good enough to print. So sad.

"The Neon Bilble" is a very good work of fiction in the tradition of American Southern Style Writing. Keeping in mind that when written, the author was 16 years of age, I find the work amazing, and in that context a "5 Star" work. The novel is of medium length and is easily followed. I listened to much of the work on an audiobook, which was very professiona, and also easily followed. The story is about a family in a small town in the American South before, during, and after, World War II. The protagonist narrator is a male child who grows from grade school to young adulthood. The entire narration is in first person. The writing style reminded me of a young Truman Capote and Carson McCullers. According to my study, the author was a fan of Flannery O'Connor. I can also sense that. The writing also reminded me of a perhaps less sophisticated version of Harper Lee. In the event one chooses to read this novel and enjoys this as I did, one may wish to consider "The Heart is A Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers, and "Other Voices, Other Rooms" by Truman Capote. The former being my favorite of the two. In summary, I really liked this work. The author was 16 years of age which amazed me. He went in to write another apparently much more sophisticated work that I have yet to read; "A Confederacy of Dunces". I am looking forward to reading that work and I wanted to read this work first. Thank You...

I think the greatest praise I can give this book is that it was so brilliant that I read it in one sitting. I contemplated putting it down and picking it up again the next day, but I was so engrossed by the story that I knew I had to continue until I reached the end. The story isn't what you'd expect. There are multifaceted layers of images and events, and the story plunges into the depths of the human psyche in a way which few people are capable of doing. The author's skill in crafting this story is magnified all the more by the fact that he was still a teenager at the time. The greatness of this book also magnifies the loss of John Kennedy Toole. As it is, he stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the greatest American novelists of all time.

In a soft niave voice Toole tells an upbeat story with a dark end. It almost seems like he was planning a second half to this novelette but never wrote it. Brilliantly composed and paced the reader is hooked from the first page. It's a story of small town America in the voice of a fifteen year old who despite lacking education and social graces manages to figure out just how rural America functions. Considering that Toole himself was only fifteen when he wrote it, one can only imagine the place he would now have among American writers had his talent been discovered and nurtured before his untimely death.

This book was recommended to me from someone who's given me a suggestion for other reading that was also new to my eyes. I had never heard of the author or the book but very quickly came to realize that this was in fact a very special novel. With the first 2-3 chapters I was hooked as the saying goes. It is written with a sensitivity that will surprise you. The author put something down onto paper that reaches out and touches you on a very intimate level. It is written from a young mans perspective but it speaks beyond its years. A beautiful book and as it was recommended to me so graciously I recommend it as well.

I bought this after reading A Confederacy of Dunces which is now one of my favourite books. It is very well written and it's maturity belies his age when he wrote it. An interesting insight into American life.

Somehow the easy writing and the life story of him makes me remind of forest gump. The way he also expressed his feelings or how a kid eye would not understand some things are a constant in it that recall a simple but very hearted soul.

Toole's Confederacy of Dunces has long been one of my favourite books; this, his only other work (published posthumously in 1989 but actually written at the age of sixteen) is a totally different style, but very readable. Narrator David is a quiet only child in a small town of the American South. Father is violent and abusive, Mother increasingly strange; and Aunt Mae, who lodges with them, an erstwhile performer and good time girl. As the story opens, David is on a train...but he takes us back through his1940s childhood. Violence, brutality and poverty seem frequent features; teachers, good and bad; a first date; the War. And the local society, deeply entrenched in Christian revivals and conformity. The unfortunate events build to a sudden crescendo, and we find out what David's doing on that train... A book that portends a great writer in the making.

The writing of a young Pulitzer Prize writer already showed promise in his teens. A quick and easy read.