Love in the Ruins

The Adventures of a Bad Catholic at a Time Near the End of the World

By: Walker Percy

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

The auto age is defunct. Buicks, Chryslers, and Pontiacs disfigure the landscape. Vines sprout in Manhattan. Wolves are seen in downtown Cleveland. And psychiatrist, mental hospital outpatient, and inventor Dr. Tom More has created a miraculous instrument: the ontological lapsometer, a kind of stethoscope of the human spirit. With it, he plans to cure mankind’s spiritual flu. But first, he must survive Moira, Lola, and Ellen - and discover why so many living people are actually dead.

Attempting to save the world from completely destroying itself, Tom ultimately begins to understand the quality and caprices of life and the uncontrollable vagaries of time and chance.

©1971 Walker Percy (P)2000 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A comedy of love against a field of anarchy…. Percy is easily one of the finest writers we have." ( New York Times Book Review)

"A great adventure.… So outrageous and so real, one is left speechless." ( Chicago Sun Times)

"Immensely readable, vividly entertaining." ( Los Angeles Times)

good audiobook, some technical issues

good story, good performance. beginning of some words cut off. CD change instructions left in.

Bad Imitation of Catcher In The Rye

Hard to follow at most times and made little sense. Though it's parallels to today's world are eerily similar.

Great Book Ruined by Reader

Walker Percy was a masterful writer whose stories are as much philosophy as literature. Love in the Ruins was prophetic! Unfortunately, the reader ruined it. Not only did he mispronounce words unique to Louisiana, but also common English words. Lazy!

A telling novel for our times

An excellent book for so many reasons, mostly Percy's genius in demonstrating vast cultural concepts through very human and relatable characters, genius even more for the accuracy in which he foretold the current situation of our society.

Crazy

alot of details..I couldnt figure out the story for a few chapters..but then it was pretty good and funny too