tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881054.post6695390874276986586..comments2024-03-27T09:50:53.662-05:00Comments on Happy Catholic*: Things I've Learned from Flannery O'Connor ... and "The Abbess of Andalusia"Julie D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/08384291674560438678noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881054.post-59451407852713687762010-07-05T16:05:18.183-05:002010-07-05T16:05:18.183-05:00UNDERSTANDING FLANNERY O'CONNOR by Margaret Wh...UNDERSTANDING FLANNERY O'CONNOR by Margaret Whitt is a good book with short pity criticism of each story and novel.Bad Catholichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11987121652866343848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881054.post-4521174509177705292010-01-29T09:35:45.949-06:002010-01-29T09:35:45.949-06:00Perhaps I am scarred because I've only heard o...Perhaps I am scarred because I've only heard one of her stories and it was definitely grotesque. Can't remember the name at the moment ... about the drifter who marries the handicapped daughter and then abandons her at a diner? Oy veh!Julie D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08384291674560438678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881054.post-27536817626842886782010-01-28T20:40:26.986-06:002010-01-28T20:40:26.986-06:00I hear you - I am usually turned off by grotesque ...I hear you - I am usually turned off by grotesque writing, too. For me, Flannery is an exception; but I was afraid to read her for some time.<br /><br />"A Temple of the Holy Ghost" is not particularly grotesque. It's probably her gentlest story. She liked it and wondered why critics ignored it; I think they ignore it because it is not shocking, just a touching and profound story about a little Catholic girl struggling with her faith. Nothing bad happens to her. "The Enduring Chill" is also a rare death-free story, and very funny, though you'd never guess it from the title. At the very least, read the conversation between the deaf Irish priest who has come to the supposed deathbed of the atheist protagonist. And the last paragraph of both stories are beautiful ... and full of symbolism! :DHilarynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881054.post-70962387188449476532010-01-27T11:25:28.161-06:002010-01-27T11:25:28.161-06:00Thank you Hilary! :-)
My problem with reading O&#...Thank you Hilary! :-)<br /><br />My problem with reading O'Connor's stories just for themselves is that I am one of those short-sighted people who find them grotesque and horrible. If I don't look for symbolism there is nothing that will attract me to them.Julie D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08384291674560438678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881054.post-49358684964253546862010-01-26T21:52:34.642-06:002010-01-26T21:52:34.642-06:00Flannery O'Connor's own advice to people r...Flannery O'Connor's own advice to people reading her stories was NOT to get into symbolism - she was endlessly frustrated by bizarre interpretations of her stories. Her advice was to read them and enjoy them. It's worked for me! I recommend "A Temple of the Holy Ghost" as a good starting place.<br /><br />BTW I just found your blog the other day and it is delightful.Hilarynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881054.post-79798496774030555832010-01-25T15:46:57.650-06:002010-01-25T15:46:57.650-06:00I still enjoy re-reading "The Habit of Being,...I still enjoy re-reading "The Habit of Being," the collection of O'Connor's letters published in 1979. Favorite line: in a letter to someone (I forget who), O'Connor remarked, "I sometimes think the Catholic Church's motto should be 'The Wrong Man For The Job!'"<br /><br />...which, I figure, is where us bloggers come in!Desperate Irish Housewifehttp://www.desperateirishhousewife.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881054.post-36220783359143382972010-01-25T11:30:40.814-06:002010-01-25T11:30:40.814-06:00I'm tellin' ya ... it's just that good...I'm tellin' ya ... it's just <i>that</i> good!Julie D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08384291674560438678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881054.post-84135893366315499982010-01-25T11:13:36.765-06:002010-01-25T11:13:36.765-06:00Now you've made ME want to read the book, you ...Now you've made ME want to read the book, you reviewer, you!bob joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03547517190417481675noreply@blogger.com