Walker Percy was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1916, graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1937 and became Doctor of Medicine at Columbia University in 1941. 'The Moviegoer', his first novel, was awarded the 1962 National Book Award for Fiction. Mr Percy's other novels include 'The Last Gentleman', 'Love in the Ruins', 'Lancelot', 'The Second Coming' and 'The Thanatos Syndrome'. Walker Percy died in 1990.

" 'So sharp, witty and profound ... Percy should have an acknowledged place between John Updike and Richard Ford as a great chronicler of twentieth century small town American malaise.' The Guardian * 'Some novels simply do not go away. They lodge in your consciousness, expanding rather than disappearing after the last page is turned ... Their mysteries deepen with each reading. Your curiosity about them is never quenched. 'The Moviegoer' has proved to be just such a book for me, as it has for countless others.' New Statesman * 'A modern classic ... Wry and lyrical, it will be a discovery for those who have not yet read it and a double pleasure for those who will read it again.' The Times * 'Funny and sad ... a gifted Southern master with a flair bordering on genius.' Irish Times * 'His story is often so shrewdly witty, even outright funny, that one forgets it is a novel about despair.' New York Herald Tribune"

Walker Percy was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1916, graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1937 and became Doctor of Medicine at Columbia University in 1941. 'The Moviegoer', his first novel, was awarded the 1962 National Book Award for Fiction. Mr Percy's other novels include 'The Last Gentleman', 'Love in the Ruins', 'Lancelot', 'The Second Coming' and 'The Thanatos Syndrome'. Walker Percy died in 1990.

" 'So sharp, witty and profound ... Percy should have an acknowledged place between John Updike and Richard Ford as a great chronicler of twentieth century small town American malaise.' The Guardian * 'Some novels simply do not go away. They lodge in your consciousness, expanding rather than disappearing after the last page is turned ... Their mysteries deepen with each reading. Your curiosity about them is never quenched. 'The Moviegoer' has proved to be just such a book for me, as it has for countless others.' New Statesman * 'A modern classic ... Wry and lyrical, it will be a discovery for those who have not yet read it and a double pleasure for those who will read it again.' The Times * 'Funny and sad ... a gifted Southern master with a flair bordering on genius.' Irish Times * 'His story is often so shrewdly witty, even outright funny, that one forgets it is a novel about despair.' New York Herald Tribune"