Well, really I love them any day. Except maybe Saturdays, since I can't open them until Saturday night. But since I do the bulk of my non-electronic (read: books and magazines) reading on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons, books arriving on Fridays (especially when I have little else unread at the moment) are particularly great.
Even if it's not Magic Street. Which still hasn't shipped, and I'm annoyed enough that I sent an email asking why not.
But this Shabbos, I will be reading Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find, recommended by a Hatracker. Well, she wasn't a Hatracker when she recommended it, but she is now . . .
[ July 27, 2005, 03:48 AM: Message edited by: rivka ]
Posted by larisse (Member # 2221) on :
rivka... I love Flannery O'Connor. Her stories are just so amazing and quirky. I love her characters. They really come alive. I haven't read her work in awhile, though. Man, now I am gonna have to go get that collection. Hmmmm.... I'll just have to remedy that by picking up a copy when I get HP VI .
Posted by Parsimony (Member # 8140) on :
I read that for a class once. It was pretty good. O'Connor has a very readable style, and somehow isn't as heavyhanded as others who write with her same purpose. Enjoy your reading!
--ApostleRadio
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I liked her characters.
However, with only one (I think) exception, I did not like the stories. >_<
Diana, I think we had a deal . . .
I will post more detailed (and spoilerific) analyses of the individual stories later.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I really liked the Flannery O'Connor stuff I read in my Lit classes in high school. (She's Southern Gothic, right? Or am I confused?) However, I haven't picked up anything else by her since. Hmmm. Rivka, want to lend me a book? Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Talk to Diana. She promised to buy it from me if I didn't like it.
(Actually, you can have it. I'm not going to make her pay up. I'll just make her buy me the next book she recommends. )
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Oh, boy! Thanks! I'll collect at the shinda/housewarming we are going to have once we're unpacked. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Assuming that it is not packed in a box at that point, sounds fine. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*bumped to get Diana's attention*
Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
I had to read A Good Man is Hard to Find in at least two different classes for my English major. It was well written, but not my personal favorite.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*ahem*
Posted by Diana Bailey (Member # 8313) on :
Rivka,
Yeah, it helps to yell at me occasionally!
Did I really say you would "like" Flannery O'Connor? Her stories are deeply disturbing. The world she writes about is strange, violent, funny, and deeply religious. In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the writing is nearly perfect. Reading and rereading the story, I never cease to be amazed at how well she weaves all the different elements of her story together and still manages to leave me shocked, horrified and freshly aware of God's presence and grace in the most unlikey ways and places.
And don't spoil the stories for others. They really deserve to be read...like traveling that wrong road...
I'll pay up,though. Being an advocate for children in high conflict divorces gives me plenty of business. Today, that just seems really depressing.
Much love!!!!!! ,
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
My objections to the stories had very little to do with being disturbed. In fact, I think the one I actually liked (better: appreciated?) was quite disturbing.
My objection was to the absence of a plot or POINT in some of these stories! Wonderful characters . . . but they either do nothing, or die absolutely pointlessly! Or both! >_<
Posted by Beatrice (Member # 4705) on :
Actually, there's a lot of "point" to O'Connor's stories. One way that I've found is helpful to read her is from the point of view of grace theology: what is she saying about forgiveness, redemption, and--primarily--grace?
Posted by Diana Bailey (Member # 8313) on :
I agree completely with Beatrice. You almost have to see the stories from two vantage points; the human, narrated story, and God's view, following these people, seeking them out, powerful, active and gracious.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Ah . . . so I'd have to be Catholic?
*ducks*
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
I just have to say that this reminds me of reading James Joyce's short stories. I LOVE his short works and was excited when I found out he has novels.
Then I opened one of them.
Posted by Beatrice (Member # 4705) on :
Actually, rivka, I'm not Catholic either...but really, the beauty of O'Connor is that her stories are rarely explicitly religious and almost never explicitly Catholic. Grace is a big deal in Christianity, true, but it's not exclusive to it.
My favorite O'Connor short stories are "The Temple of the Holy Ghost," "The Displaced Person," "Greenleaf," "Revelation," and "The Artificial Nigger."
Another thing I like about her is that she has a gift for titles. I have a horrible time with titles, so I admire authors who are good at it.
mac, I know what you're saying. While I like both his short stories and novels, I can see why someone who likes the former would be a little unsettled by the latter. And to tell the truth, despite the occasional brilliance of the novels, there is little that compares to, say, "The Dead."
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
"The Artificial Nigger" (and less so "The Displaced Person") was the one I liked.
And that comment was mostly me giving Diana a hard time. Posted by Dante (Member # 1106) on :
Oh, I guessed that. I was just using it as a starting off point to pontificate. <grin>
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
*anticipates new book with glee*
And I'm even getting rid of a good lot of my books tomorrow, so it's okay to get a new one! *looks virtuous*
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*confuzzled*
Dante = Beatrice?
Posted by Dante (Member # 1106) on :
Oh, yeah. I guess I figured it was obvious when Beatrice was the only person to want to date Dante in the dating thread.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
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