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Modern Baptists [Paperback]

James Wilcox (Author)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews) |

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Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

"Wilcox ... is a precocious master of old-fashioned farce, and this novel ... is a wonderfully funny explosion of comedy that is solidly based, as a good comic novel must be, on a serious understanding of life". -- The New Yorker.

#outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } "Wilcox ... is a precocious master of old-fashioned farce, and this novel ... is a wonderfully funny explosion of comedy that is solidly based, as a good comic novel must be, on a serious understanding of life". -- The New Yorker.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This title is enjoying a renewed interest after the New Yorker article on the author. "Mr. Wilcox has real comic genius. He is a writer to make us all feel hopeful," wrote Anne Tyler in the New York Times Book Review. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Back Bay Books (October 1, 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316940453
ISBN-13: 978-0316940450
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,092,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's James Wilcox Page

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

10 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The funniest novel I have ever read, June 26, 2000

Bobs - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Baptists (Paperback)

James Wilcox is the best author you have never heard of. His novels are comic masterpieces. MODERN BAPTISTS remains his best but NORTH GLADIOLA, PLAIN AND NORMAL, and GUEST OF A SINNER are all quite good. But if you read POLITE SEX or SORT OF RICH, you will be amazed by the way he balances hysterical comedy with dramatic pathos. In a perfect world his novels would be read by millions and he would have the status of a Phillip Roth or a John Updike.

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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite books., April 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Modern Baptists (Paperback)

I'm a voracious reader, but I rarely RE-read books. (You know how it is--so many books, so little time.) Still, I've re-read this novel over and over. Simply put, it's extremely funny, impeccably written, and contains some of the most vivid characters you'll find anywhere. My advice to those considering this book: read the first ten pages or so. If you're drawn into the story and/or find yourself laughing like a crazy person, then you know this is the book for you. If these things DON'T happen to you, well, I'm sure you're got good taste in some other area of your life. :) Really, if you're a fan of good fiction, you should give yourself the opportunity to experience the unsung, underrated James Wilcox, and this book is the best beginning.

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wilcox is a master of subtle, all-too-human comedy, August 13, 2000

scribbler1 "scribbler1" (Atlanta, GA 30305) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Modern Baptists (Paperback)

Where has this author been all my life? Or, maybe a better questions is, where have I been? "Modern Baptists" was the first Wilcox novel I have ever read, and now I want to read them all. Deft, comic, eloquently spare prose, and hilarious on every page. With writing that includes lines like "I'm just here looking at the opera," (paraphrased - but it's close) I'm ready to read the whole Wilcox oeuvre!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Amoral Majority

Mr Pickens is one of lifes disasters through no real fault of his own. He just makes horrendous errors of judgement whilst trying to be good. Read more

Published 4 months ago by An admirer of Saul

3.0 out of 5 stars bemused
I read and loved Guest of a Sinner and was excited to read more books by Wilcox. I checked out the reviews carefully before choosing Modern Baptists to read next. Read more

Published on March 27, 2008 by Canela

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny portrait
I don't read much fiction anymore, but this book had amazing endorsements by such notables as Robert Penn Warren, Walker Percy, Toni Morrison, Anne Tyler, and others, so I gave it... Read more

Published on May 31, 2003 by magellan

2.0 out of 5 stars sometimes, I want to shoot Flannery O'Connor
Only sometimes. But to her credit, she had a point, a purpose. Her characters were driven forward by the theme, the core of the story. Read more

Published on February 8, 2000 by Mark Scarbrough

5.0 out of 5 stars The best southern writer alive
I love James Wilcox, he is an amazingly insightful writer who can be wildly funny without ever resorting to caricature or hyperbole. Read more

Published on September 21, 1999 by Michael Manley

4.0 out of 5 stars Very funny take on southern living
I thoroughly enjoyed this book the first time I read it, and find myself laughing out loud every time I dip into again (which is pretty often). Read more

Published on March 21, 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Wilcox at his funniest and most insightful
James Wilcox is at his best in Tula Springs, and Modern Baptists, his first, may be his best work overall. Read more

Published on December 12, 1998 by Mark Brown

› See all 10 customer reviews...

Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
When F.X. got out of jail, he went to live with his half brother, Mr. Pickens, who lived right next door to Dr. Henry's, the all-night store that sold beer and ice cubes and gas. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
candy clerk

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Donna Lee, Tula Springs, Sonny Boy, Miss Jesse, Josie Wayne, Miss Quaid, Bobby Pickens, Miss Mina, New Orleans, New York, Tula Creek, Baton Rouge, Carl Robert, Hollywood Apartments, Christmas Eve, Pontchartrain Courts, City Hall, Emmet Orney, Lake Pontchartrain, Old Jefferson Davis Highway, Eddie May, Flat Avenue, Mamie Van Doren, Miss Keely, Ozone Lux

New!
Concordance | Text Stats

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Citations (learn more)

This book cites 9 books:

Polite Sex: A Novel by James Wilcox in Front Matter (1), Front Matter (2), and Front Matter (3)
Sort of Rich by James Wilcox in Front Matter (1), Front Matter (2), and Front Matter (3)
North Gladiola (Voices of the South) by James Wilcox in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
Plain and Normal: A Novel by James Wilcox in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
Guest of a Sinner (Voices of the South) by James Wilcox in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)

See all 9 books this book cites

19 books cite this book:

Follow the Story: How to Write Successful Nonfiction by James B. Stewart on 11 pages
The New Gilded Age: The New Yorker Looks at the Culture of Affluence (Modern Library Paperbacks) by David Remnick on 8 pages
Polite Sex: A Novel by James Wilcox on 4 pages
Sort of Rich by James Wilcox in Front Matter, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
American Mainline Religion: Its Changing Shape and Future by Wade Clark Roof on page 42, and Back Matter

See all 19 books citing this book

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