A Thief of Peirce: The Letters of Kenneth Laine Ketner and Walker Percy [Hardcover]

S. J. Patrick H. Samway (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1995

This valuable and informative book is a study of Percy's five novels in the context of his southern and American literary sources and his tragic personal history. Though Percy has emphasized mainly his European existential influences, his highly allusive novels echo his tragic early years in the South, as well as his ambivalent relationship with his adoptive father William Alexander Percy and his awareness of such writers as Twain, Hemingway, and Warren.

This perceptive study examines Percy's novels in the light of psychoanalytic theory, philosophy, and literary analysis. The author finds that Percy's fiction has been shaped as much by what Percy rejected as by what he embraced.

This book is "admirable first of all for its good taste. It respects Walker Percy's privacy. . . . It offers fair readings, generous readings, and ultimately new and rewarding readings." --Lewis Lawson

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

A collection of engaging letters by which two Charles Sanders Peirce devotees, an author and a philosopher, gain deeper insights into semiotics

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi; 1St Edition edition (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0878058109
• ISBN-13: 978-0878058105
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,415,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sovereign Wayfaring at its Best, January 10, 2000

By 

Tj Reilley "PhilosopherGal" (New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Thief of Peirce: The Letters of Kenneth Laine Ketner and Walker Percy (Hardcover)

It's a rare and beautiful event when two scientific intelligences engage in genuinely truthful dialogue about vitally important matters which impact daily life. Fortunately that's just what lies in store for any sovereign wayfaring reader of Thief of Peirce. At least that was what I discovered throughout this smooth-flowing collection of correspondence between essayist/novelist Walker Percy, and philosopher Kenneth Ketner.

I've read and re-read so many portions of this book, making margin notes galore, and reflecting on my own view of the subjects on which these two gents exchange ideas and thoughts. So much goes on in Thief that any list of the best content would end up including the whole book anyway; although the most used portion of my copy is Ketner's essay, Novel Science.

So, if you're looking to gain insight into Percy's novels, and Ketner's new sense of autobiography in His Glassy Essence (written before the Reagan bio, as a matter of fact), then don't miss this particular essay in Thief.

But, don't take my word for it --- be Percy's sovereign wayfarer and discover the beauty of this book on your own. After reading it you'll likely be a Thief of Peirce yourself.