The Neon Bible

By: John Kennedy Toole

Narrated by: Nick Sullivan

John Kennedy Toole - who won a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for his best-selling comic masterpiece A Confederacy of Dunces - wrote The Neon Bible for a literary contest at the age of 16. The manuscript languished in a drawer and became the subject of a legal battle among Toole's heirs. It was only in 1989, 35 years after it was written and 20 years after Toole's suicide at 31, that this amazingly accomplished and evocative novel was freed for publication.

©1989 W. Kenneth Holditch, Marion Toole Hosli, Sharon H. Muniz, Althea Toole Farley, and Mary Toole McGuire. Recorded by arrangement with Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Early Masterpiece

COD is one of my favorite books of all time. The chance to listen to this early novel written when Toole was only 15 was really incredible and it didn't disappoint. The introduction adds great context, and what the book lays bare about bigotry, ignorance, and "in group" selfishness is just as prescient and insightful today. It's an excellent work and, like COD, a sad, funny, absurd, humanistic literary treasure.

A Little Gem

I adored Toole's "A Confederacy of Dunces" back when it was first published.
This little book was written while the author was quite young and it was denied
publication due to medieval laws in Louisiana.
Toole has an authentic voice and perspective. His work falls somewhere in-
between William Faulkner (family secrets and dysfunction, racial issues)
and Fanny Flag (southern eccentric characters and humor).
It's a tragedy that Toole left little behind when he took his life.
It's refreshing to spend time with a literary genius...
I highly recommend this book!

Kennedy o’ Toole was a genius - is a genius

It is a master work written when the author had sixteen years old. It was the prelude to his other piece of work, A confederacy of the Dunce.

what a wonderful surprise!

I had no idea there was another Toole book published. It is delightful. You can really picture each character. love the narrator as well.

Outstanding

Amazing. Brilliant performance, a rich & engaging story. Toole's talent even at age sixteen is immense.