Because it is concerned with the origins of a mass movement, The Origin of the Brunists has a large, panoramic cast of characters, from hell-fire preachers in fundamentalist sects through cynical journalists and embarrassed townspeople and bereaved widows and orphans, to believers in the new dispensation many think Bruno announces. Although many minor characters are deftly drawn embodiments of an idea or obsession gone to excess, a brief survey of the principal opponents in the conflict over Bruno's new creed may suggest the subtlety with which Coover develops this conflict.

One explanation for the popularity of the Brunist doctrine's apocalyptic fervor is that characters in West Condon need something to illuminate their lives. This is particularly true of Bruno's two closest disciples, Eleanor Norton and Bruno's sister Marcella. In a sense, the cult is the creation of these two women and Giovanni is merely a figurehead. This interpretation...