The Neon Bible; By John Kennedy Toole; Grove; 160 pages; $15.95.
In a quirky way, John Kennedy Toole reminds one of Mozart - a prodigy whose talent was abruptly ended by an early death.Unlike the prolific Mozart, however, Toole's production was minimal, his gifts barely hinted at. Indeed, as far as can be determined there are only two books, the Pulitzer Prize-winning, "A Confederacy of Dunces," published posthumously in 1980, and now, "The Neon Bible," brought to print after years of litigation among Toole's heirs. Toole committed suicide in 1969 when he was 31.
What overwhelms about "The Neon Bible" is that Toole wrote it when he was just 16. Yet the voice, the command of material, is as sure as many novelists writing in their maturity.
"The Neon Bible" tells the story of David, a sensitive, observant child growing into adolescence as his family drifts downward to the edge of poverty in the early 1940s and through the war years.
Toole's best characters are his women: Aunt Mae, full of life and vigor who was once "on stage" and whose splashiness earns her and the family the town's righteous rejection; and Mrs. Watkins, the pastor's stern wife and demon teacher of the first three grades. There is also a sympathetic and generally well-realized portrait of a homosexual, a daring effort on the part of a 16 year old.
This is not to say "The Neon Bible" is a masterpiece or a perfect work. Its violent ending is melodramatic and mars the pace as if Toole wasn't quite sure of how to end the work. Still, this is a startling book, so sure in its voice and evocative power it can only make one sad it is a voice now stilled. -David E. Anderson (UPI).