Wise Blood.

Wise Blood (!952) is a novel by Flannery O'Connor. It is the story of Hazel Motes, a 22-year-old man who returns home to Tennessee after four years' service in the army. Hazel had grown up in the town of Eastrod, but his parents and family are all dead. Hazel's grandfather had been a preacher. Before Hazel had joined the army, he had intended to become a preacher. Now, he is trying to avoid Jesus, whom he …

…that Jesus exists, Hazel is driven to seek some form of redemption. O'Connor presents the necessity of faith, in the individual's inability to deny that God exists. Even when the individual attempts to deny the existence of God, the individual is confronted by the presence of God. Hazel's attempt to run away from God transforms the novel from bizarre comedy to an intense and searching study of the problem of redemption in the modern world.