- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: FSG Adult (Jan 1 1984)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0374508046
- ISBN-13: 978-0374508043
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #108,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"Flannery O'Connor ranks with Mark Twain and Scott Fitzgerald among our finest prose stylists. Her epigrams alone are worth the price of the book . . . which should be read by every writer and would-be writer and lover of writing."--John Leonard, The New York Times
"[O'Connor] was not just the best 'woman writer' of [her] time and place; she expressed something secret about America, called 'the South,' with that transcendent gift for expressing the real spirit of a culture that is conveyed by those writers . . . who become nothing but what they see. Completeness is one word for it: relentlessness [and] unsparingness would be others. She was a genius."--Alfred Kazin, The New York Times Book Review
"[O'Connor] was not just the best 'woman writer' of [her] time and place; she expressed something secret about America, called 'the South,' with that transcendent gift for expressing the real spirit of a culture that is conveyed by those writers . . . who become nothing but what they see. Completeness is one word for it: relentlessness [and] unsparingness would be others. She was a genius."--Alfred Kazin, The New York Times Book Review
Product Description
At her death in 1964, O'Connor left behind a body of unpublished essays and lectures as well as a number of critical articles that had appeared in scattered publications during her too-short lifetime. The keen writings comprising Mystery and Manners, selected and edited by O'Connor's lifelong friends Sally and Robert Fitzgerald, are characterized by the directness and simplicity of the author's style, a fine-tuned wit, understated perspicacity, and profound faith.
The book opens with "The King of the Birds," her famous account of raising peacocks at her home in Milledgeville, Georgia. Also included are: three essays on regional writing, including "The Fiction Writer and His Country" and "Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction"; two pieces on teaching literature, including "Total Effect and the 8th Grade"; and four articles concerning the writer and religion, including "The Catholic Novel in the Protestant South." Essays such as "The Nature and Aim of Fiction" and "Writing Short Stories" are widely seen as gems.
This bold and brilliant essay-collection is a must for all readers, writers, and students of contemporary American literature.
The book opens with "The King of the Birds," her famous account of raising peacocks at her home in Milledgeville, Georgia. Also included are: three essays on regional writing, including "The Fiction Writer and His Country" and "Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction"; two pieces on teaching literature, including "Total Effect and the 8th Grade"; and four articles concerning the writer and religion, including "The Catholic Novel in the Protestant South." Essays such as "The Nature and Aim of Fiction" and "Writing Short Stories" are widely seen as gems.
This bold and brilliant essay-collection is a must for all readers, writers, and students of contemporary American literature.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
WHEN I WAS FIVE, I HAD AN EXPERIENCE THAT marked me for life. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
WHEN I WAS FIVE, I HAD AN EXPERIENCE THAT marked me for life. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Writer,
By Reader and Writer "Chris" (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mystery & Manners (Paperback)
I love O'Connor's works, not all of them but much of them. This book is a compilation of her lectures and occasional writings, often spliced together into a coherent essay, sometimes repeating, often hilarious. There is an essay on raising fancy chickens (peacocks) and a couple good ones on writing.If you know the author's works and want to learn more about her and her ideas on writing then get it. She is merciless about pulp literature, and one of the great quotes of the book is, "Many a bestseller could have been prevented by a good writing teacher." When her wit shines through she's wonderful. The only weakness of the book is that O'Connor's religiosity infects the last two essays. Her ramble on the spiritual and writing is outdated and ultimately extremely dull. Skip them. As for the book as a whole, don't expect her thoughts on writing to be any form of lesson for the beginning writer. She muses on the state of literature with verbal jabs and strong opinions. Certainly for that, in this climate of how dare you critique writing as promoted by oprah, such strong opinions and ideas are welcomed. A good book to add to your shelf.
5.0 out of 5 stars
5 1/2 Stars...Fun in the Process!,
By Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Mystery & Manners (Paperback)
O'Connor writes with such wit and wisdom that I found myself overwhelmed. I began to mark pages, then realized I was marking each and every one.Tucked between two short pieces, the meat of the book deals with the craft of writing, the motivation and method, and the spiritual heart of fiction. Never have I read so direct an approach to the mix of religion and art. O'Connor's words can be applied to creative efforts in all fields and in all branches of Christendom. Why then, with such poignant insights penned over forty years ago, does the Church at large still look down on artistic endeavor? Must everything preach a literal sermon for the concrete Western mindset? As O'Connor makes clear, art speaks truth only when it embraces life in all its shades of good and evil. This book could be titled aptly, "Freedom and Frustrations." Any writer diving into this work will discover O'Connor's pearls of wisdom beneath the waves of public narrowmindedness. Don't pass this by if you wish to make art that matters. You'll be encouraged. You'll also be freed to have fun in the process.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvelous book,
By
This review is from: Mystery & Manners (Paperback)
This book is rich with humor, insight, courage, practical tips on the writing life. It includes the reader as an honored guest and sends the reader back out into the world satisfied and eager. In an age that mocks simple faith and profits by the downfall of belief even as it piously and hypocritically scolds those who have been misguided, this book is good news. It is a heartening guide back to the world where faith is fresh and plenteous and the faithful are not confounded for their beliefs but are encouraged by the warmth the book generates. The heart is ignited and a good journey is begun with the author as a companion. This book contains a wealth that promises to stay around for all time.
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