I wrote this biography for all those people who have heard they’re supposed to be getting some spiritual meaning out of O’Connor’s stories but just can’t get there. Your remarks get close to the heart of what O’Connor is doing in these awful stories (awful, you’ll remember, meant ‘filled with awe’ or ‘awe-inspiring’ before it meant ‘terrible’; I’m drawing on all those meanings here).Author Jonathan Roger's post makes me really, really want to read this book. Via Brandywine Books.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Flannery O'Connor's "Awe-ful" Stories
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Yes, that does seem like an interesting book. I might be inclined to buy it too, but apparently Amazon doesn't have it in their inventory.
ReplyDeleteI think it doesn't come out for a while yet. Maybe in June? I think I saw that somewhere on the author's blog.
ReplyDeleteJulie ~ I have to tell you...I started reading Flannery O'Connor because of you. i think it was your blog that introduced me to her, and then I saw here everywhere.
ReplyDeleteWhen I had a break in grad school, I read her books, some given by religious sisters to me to read, others obtained from the library.
In fact...I still haven't finished "Habit of Being" because I used up 3 renewals on it and have to get it back to read it again and it's the ONLY "Habit of Being" in my county library network and it KILLED me to not to mark it up!
And then there was the day last December when an accident happened in front of me, of which I was miraculously not a part...yet was.
I don't mean this as a shameless plug, but a shameful one:
http://adorotedevote.blogspot.com/2010/12/salvation-by-catastrophe.html
I think you really have to know Flannery to know this one.
Julie, do you you know of the audio on this particular story? Flannery reading it? Saw it recently on G+ and when I tried to "share" it was told it no longer existed as a link. think I captured it at work.
If you don't have it, let me know...I think I'll be in the office at some point tomorrow and can probably either link it here, email, or post it on one of our common networks.
BTW, far belated thanks for introducing me to Flannery O'Connor!
And Rumor Gulden... I loved her book "In This House of Brede" and...don't recall...have you ever posted on the movie?
I got it from Amazon, great movie! Not exactly like the book but still great religious life footage!
Adoro ... wow, that story is right out of a Flannery story, you're right. Especially when you think about what could have led up to that family being in that place at that moment.
ReplyDeleteI did capture the audio of Flannery reading that story and if you want it, let me know. I can email it (or upload it, etc.) for you. It is astoundingly good I thought because she captured the humor of the early story in a way I hadn't really picked up on before. And I had never thought about the fact that she'd have a thick Southern accent. But of course she would have.
So happy you discovered Flannery through me ... I am still discovering her slowly (very slowly).
Haven't seen In This House of Brede the movie because I always heard it wasn't that good ... and, truth be told, I really avoid movies of books I love (except for Lord of the Rings ... there must always be an exception, right?)