A review by littletaiko
A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano

4.0

This is a fictional historical book set around 1960 that involves the author Flannery O'Connor. I really didn't know much about O'Connor works or life so came into this fresh. Would have been helpful to know ahead of time when she lived as it took until about two-thirds of the way into the book to realize it was set at an earlier time. However, the reason it didn't register is that I was just so caught up in the story. It opens on the eve of Melvin and Cookie's wedding and involves lots of peacocks which may sound odd but really set the tone for the book. It's about life in a small Southern town, personality conflicts, and trying to figure out how to live life to it's fullest. My one quibble was with the character of Cookie as her reasons for hating Flannery were so paper thin and not really believable.