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A review by limdz
Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O'Connor
3.0
Good God, do I love Flannery O'Connor's stories .... but this collection is mostly insufferable, with the exception of the first and last essay and a few in between. I loved "The Fiction Writer and His Country," for instance, as well as "King of the Birds."
This book had been recommended to me several times. I told my thesis advisor I was concerned about the amount of "Catholic' theory applied to writing, but I was interested, because I think many great writers were Catholic... I wanted to know how a Catholic who has NOT rejected her religion applies her spiritual sentiments to her prose. But getting through some of those essays about Catholicism and fiction .... oh, man. I wanted to throw the book at a wall several times.
Part of the collection's flaws are actually not O'Connor's fault. I think the editors did a rather poor job organizing her prose....many, many of the essays are repetitive -- and not in a good way.
I'd rather just read her stories, enjoy them for the great works of art they are ..How she thinks about them -- in particular, how she frames her art with her Catholic opinions -- is not as engaging or interesting for me, and may even (in SOME ways!) detract from the experience.
This book had been recommended to me several times. I told my thesis advisor I was concerned about the amount of "Catholic' theory applied to writing, but I was interested, because I think many great writers were Catholic... I wanted to know how a Catholic who has NOT rejected her religion applies her spiritual sentiments to her prose. But getting through some of those essays about Catholicism and fiction .... oh, man. I wanted to throw the book at a wall several times.
Part of the collection's flaws are actually not O'Connor's fault. I think the editors did a rather poor job organizing her prose....many, many of the essays are repetitive -- and not in a good way.
I'd rather just read her stories, enjoy them for the great works of art they are ..How she thinks about them -- in particular, how she frames her art with her Catholic opinions -- is not as engaging or interesting for me, and may even (in SOME ways!) detract from the experience.