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The Walker Percy Project

First Lines Quiz

Enjoy this quiz for a fun diversion for readers at all levels while learning about Walker Percy.

INSTRUCTIONS: Read the first lines (or first paragraphs) below and decide which Walker Percy novel they belong to. Once you have your answer, click "Which novel?" to get the answer. See how many you can get right.

"Come into my cell. Make yourself at home. Take the chair; I'll sit on the cot. No? You prefer to stand by the window? I understand. You like my little view. Have you noticed that the narrower the view the more you can see? For the first time I understand how old ladies can sit on their porches for years."
Which Novel?
One fine day in early summer a young man lay thinking in Central Park.
Which Novel?
"Now in these dread latter days of the old violent beloved U.S.A. and of the Christ-forgetting Christ-haunted death-dealing Western world I came to myself in a grove of young pines and the question came to me: has it happened at last?"
Which Novel?
"This morning I got a note from my aunt asking me to come for lunch. I know what this means. Since I go there every Sunday for dinner and today is Wednesday, it can mean only one thing: she wants to have one of her serious talks. It will be extremely grave, either a piece of bad news about her stepdaughter Kate or else a serious talk about me, about the future and what I ought to do. It is enough to scare the wits out of anyone, yet I confess I do not find the prospect altogether unpleasant."
Which Novel?
The first sign that something had gone wrong manifested itself while he was playing golf.
Which Novel?
"For some time now I have noticed that something strange is occurring in our region. I have noticed it both in the patients I have treated and in ordinary encounters with people. At first there were only suspicions. But yesterday my suspicions were confirmed. I was called to the hospital for a consultation and there was an opportunity to make an examination."
Which Novel?

Thank you for keeping Walker Percy from getting lost in the cosmos!

We hope our educational and entertaining quizzes will help to keep Walker Percy's works and thought alive in the public awareness.