All six of Percy's novels (and most of his essays) are closely linked by similar concerns and themes. In each, a central character finds himself confused, alienated from himself and society, and unsure what to do with his life. In each novel, this character begins a search, usually misguided at first: Binx's seductions and moviegoing; Will Barrett's search for answers from Sutter in The Last Gentleman, and his attempt to force God to prove his existence in The Second Coming; Lancelot's disastrous search for the un-Holy Grail in Lancelot (1977); and Tom More's scientific lapsometer in Love in the Ruins (1971) and The Thanatos Syndrome (1987). All these characters, however, are offered at least the opportunity for a more authentic search and the possibility of grace, symbolized by a religious sacrament at the end of each.....
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