The Second ComingThe Second Coming
Score Classic
What it's about
Will Barrett, a rich, retired lawyer and widower in North Carolina, keeps falling down on the golf course, and has decided that if he can't find proof of God, he'll end his life. Then he meets Allison, a young woman who has escaped from a mental hospital and is living alone in an old greenhouse, and the two misfits fall in love.
Why it's worth reading
It was a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. It's Walker Percy's funniest, most hopeful novel.
You'll love it if you liked
The Moviegoer
A Confederacy of Dunces
GileadGood to know
It's a sequel to The Last Gentleman but stands alone. It deals with suicidal thoughts.
By the numbers
- Readers29 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics63 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
On our reserve shelf: it doesn't have enough readers yet for us to rank it alongside the Must-Read 50 pool. We check again every month, and it can still turn up in your 50 once you've read most of our ranked books.
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Walker Percy
If you like this, read next
Gone with the Wind
The Color Purple
The Caine Mutiny
East of Eden
I, Claudius
A Room of One's OwnExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is The Second Coming worth reading?
It was a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Its Must-Read Score is 65.0 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Second Coming about?
Will Barrett, a rich, retired lawyer and widower in North Carolina, keeps falling down on the golf course, and has decided that if he can't find proof of God, he'll end his life. Then he meets Allison, a young woman who has escaped from a mental hospital and is living alone in an old greenhouse, and the two misfits fall in love.
How long does it take to read The Second Coming?
About 9 hours (359 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The Second Coming?
If you liked it, try The Moviegoer by Walker Percy, A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole or Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.