PEACE & Percy

I'm in the middle of moving my office --thousands of books -- and I cannot re-read Peace and engage this discussion. By the time I'm ready to, you'll be finished. So, just a thought, which may or may not be of value. The drifting style of Peace reminds me a whole lot of Walker Percy, especially The Moviegoer. I don't recall similarities of themes, but of course there are similarities in the writers' backgrounds and convictions, and given Wolfe's interest in Catholic writers, I wonder if he had read Percy before writing Peace. I wrote Wolfe a few years ago, preparatory to my interview with him, and asked if he considered himself in any sense a "Catholic novelist" or a "Southern novelist." He answered "no" to both. But that would not rule out influence. Perhaps if noting else, a question to him about this when next someone interviews him would be in order. FWIW. Patera Nut. (Nutria)