Purple Jesus is a 2010 humorous novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 in the Southern Gothic

Southern Gothic

Southern Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction unique to American literature that takes place exclusively in the American South. It resembles its parent genre in that it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot...

 style. It was written by Ron Cooper and published by Bancroft Press. Cooper's previous novel Hume's Fork

Hume's Fork (novel)

Hume's Fork is a satirical novel released in April 2007. It is written by Ron Cooper and published by Bancroft Press.- Summary :Hume's Fork is a novel about a philosophy professor named Legare "Greazy" Hume. He attends a conference in Charleston, South Carolina, with his eccentric colleague Saul...

, was released by Bancroft Press in 2007.

Summary

The novel focuses around three characters: Purvis Driggers, a 24-year old unemployed man, Martha Umphlett, a divorced young woman made to live with the family she once escaped, and Brother Andrew, a monk devoted more to nature than God. Their stories intertwine through a series of events related to a murder, a love triangle, and the sightings of a legendary woodland figure known as the Hairy Man.

Reception

Ron Rash

Ron Rash

Ron Rash , an American poet, short story writer and novelist, is the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. Rash was born in Chester, South Carolina, in 1953, grew up in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, and is a graduate of Gardner-Webb...

, author of Serena, said, “ Purple Jesus is a novel that deserves a place on the bookshelf between O'Connor's Wise Blood and Crews' The Gospel Singer , but Ron Cooper has his own unique voice, and what a marvelous, darkly comic voice it is.” Jay Parini

Jay Parini

Jay Parini is an American writer and academic. He is known for novels and poetry, biography and criticism.He was born in Pittston, Pennsylvania, and brought up in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Lafayette College in 1970 and was awarded a doctorate by the University of St. Andrews in 1975...

, author of The Last Station, wrote, “Purvis Driggers, the novel's hero—if that word remotely connects to this bizarre figure on the bottom layer of a world that defies description—stays in the head, and he won't go away. The writing is antic, smart, and often memorable. This is a fine novel.” Fred Chappell

Fred Chappell

Fred Davis Chappell is an author and poet. He retired after 40 years as an English professor at University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He was the Poet Laureate of North Carolina from 1997-2002...

, founding member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers

Fellowship of Southern Writers

The Fellowship of Southern Writers is a literary organization founded in 1987 in Chattanooga, Tennessee by 21 Southern writers and other literary luminaries...

, said, “Ron Cooper’s Purple Jesus is a happy handful of a book. With characters as recognizable as they are eccentric, a storyline as inclusive as a revival tent, and a prose style that snaps like garters, it is one nifty read. Anyone who doesn’t enjoy this novel just doesn’t know how to have a good time.” The Washington Post

The Washington Post

The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...

called it "...a literary event of the first magnitude."

External links

• http://www.roncooper.org
• http://www.bancroftpress.com
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/07/AR2011010706365.html