A review by jooniperd
A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano

4.0

i don't know about you, but if i am going into a fictionalized version of flannery o'connor, i go in expecting things to be a bit dark and twisty. so i am glad ann napolitano went down those paths and embraced the complicated and more wicked/sad sides of life. while o'connor is part of a larger cast of characters, and the novel isn't solely about her, i enjoyed the portrait created in this book and she certainly serves as the centre around which the action and characters move. having read much of o'connor's fiction, and [b:Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor|5350543|Flannery A Life of Flannery O'Connor|Brad Gooch|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344268232s/5350543.jpg|5418030] (along with a whole bunch of articles and essays), the way napolitano presented o'connor (and her mother, regina) was quite believable, and i liked the view of milledgeville and its citizens as invented in a good hard look. i feel as though napolitano writes with a huge amount of empathy and sensitivity so that even though there is a lot of wretchedness, hope sustains.i felt the book wobbled a bit near the end, and i did end up a bit disappointed with the arcs of a few characters. after all of the time and build-up things ended with a bit of a fizzle for me and felt a bit limited. but i was quite absorbed in the book and its themes of happiness, duty/obligations, and consequences. this book did nothing to endear me to peacocks though. heh.