tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post842401333927186853..comments2024-01-02T15:37:04.858-05:00Comments on Caravana de recuerdos: A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other StoriesRichardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-37297278740624910952010-07-22T23:20:35.493-04:002010-07-22T23:20:35.493-04:00*Simon: Good to know! There's only so much pe...*Simon: Good to know! There's only so much peer pressure I can fend off at any one point in time, so now you and Frances have me strongly leaning to those short stories as my intro to Du Maurier. Thanks for the tip!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-51026022374432091182010-07-22T06:51:14.590-04:002010-07-22T06:51:14.590-04:00Richard - you MUST give Daphne a try with her shor...Richard - you MUST give Daphne a try with her short stories they are quite dark, I have yet to read The Birds (yes the one that became the Hitchcock movie) and Other Stories but its very much on the top of my TBR radar.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-8981410567828562732010-07-22T00:01:40.757-04:002010-07-22T00:01:40.757-04:00*Simon: "Interesting"'s a good word ...*Simon: "Interesting"'s a good word for her b/c O'Connor definitely provokes you to take a stand at times, like it or not! On the short story front, Frances has me interested in the possibility of checking out some Daphne Du Maurier sometime soon. Cheers!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-25103087024576697112010-07-21T08:17:51.726-04:002010-07-21T08:17:51.726-04:00This does sound like an interesting collection and...This does sound like an interesting collection and one that I had never heard of before. I hadnt heard of the author either... oops! I might have to see if I can get a copy from the library as I am trying to read much more short stories this year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-27896311371472176752010-07-19T18:14:13.082-04:002010-07-19T18:14:13.082-04:00Frances: I read an O'Connor tale (or two?) in ...Frances: I read an O'Connor tale (or two?) in my teens, but I can't remember what kind of reaction she provoked in me back then even though that was my American literature loving heyday. Nothing at all like your vivid 16th birthday gift story. By the way, the God stuff in O'Connor really fascinates me on some level--not at all like the typical Baptist or Catholic themes I would have expected going in. P.S. "Novice happy people" = LMAO genius. You are too much, my friend!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-75962095627539773532010-07-19T17:57:22.621-04:002010-07-19T17:57:22.621-04:00*Amateur Reader: From the little I've read of ...*Amateur Reader: From the little I've read of O'Connor, agreed. She's a very provocative writer in that regard.<br /><br />*Emily: Wouldn't want to make too much out of a single photo, but that snapshot I posted makes me suspect that O'Connor would feel quite at home in some ways with the characters she created. Which might or might not have anything to say about the "originality" of her theology given how much I'm projecting. Anyway, a bio (<em>Flannery O'Connor and the Christ-Haunted South</em>) is on its way to me to (hopefully) help suss things out. In the meantime, I get what you're saying about the spiritual "sickness" of the viewpoint expressed in "The River." And am sure you know that me saying the exposition of such themes was ballsy is in no way an embrace of the philosophy behind the same. Really enjoyed the experience overall, though, so thanks again for reminding me about O'Connor in the first place!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-72338249457339379392010-07-19T17:38:09.396-04:002010-07-19T17:38:09.396-04:00Loving Jill's comment. I have some lovely, hap...Loving Jill's comment. I have some lovely, happy children's books to send you. Or maybe you can read the book I am enjoying now, The Most Beautiful Book in the World? Beauty and love from the darkest moments and sources. A hybrid for novice happy people.<br /><br />OK, I have yet another weird family story for you. On my 16th birthday, an aunt gave me this book because I have the same birthday as O'Connor. To say I was conflicted after reading it is an understatement. Like Emily, I am so wowed by her writing abilities that I can muster no indignant dismissiveness for her God-charged themes.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12597485569740436880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-48138450140089665052010-07-19T14:20:18.728-04:002010-07-19T14:20:18.728-04:00OK, yeah - I am so far from understanding O'Co...OK, yeah - I am so far from understanding O'Connor's take on "religion" and "grace" that, um, I'm not even sure what to say about that. I've read interviews with her where she talks about how the approach to grace is painful, and existence is a mystery - and I can kind of get where she's coming from there, but I am just so secular that I spend half of my time while reading her being like "WHY WOULD YOU BELIEVE IN SUCH A GOD??" I have to remind myself it's not a logical choice, etc., but at times it gets to be too much. I can see why you would label the drowning toddler story ballsy, but I also find the author's worldview in that piece just...sick. And not in an intriguing, edgy way, but in a way where I am actually borderline offended. (Which almost never happens, as you may have gathered by now.)<br /><br />Of course, I spend the other half marveling at her writing chops, so it kinda-sorta all evens out...? In any case I have a copy of her novel <em>Wise Blood</em> on my TBR, so I'm interested enough to give her another shot.Emilyhttp://www.eveningallafternoon.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-71392849967840473332010-07-19T13:40:44.576-04:002010-07-19T13:40:44.576-04:00That's what I love about O'Connor - she wo...That's what I love about O'Connor - she won't let the reader sit still. No complacency in her work.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-56458686423036374422010-07-19T12:20:54.356-04:002010-07-19T12:20:54.356-04:00*Steph: The book is yours if you want it (just sen...*Steph: The book is yours if you want it (just send me your mailing address in an e-mail), but thanks for the kind words regardless! By the way, I like your Southern fiction idea/project--I'm hoping to read a Faulkner later in the year and some more O'Connor at some point, but I'd love to hear what other authors <em>you</em> have in mind. In the meantime, thanks as always for the visit!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-26242836005111469992010-07-19T10:30:39.137-04:002010-07-19T10:30:39.137-04:00I've wanted to try O'Connor for a while an...I've wanted to try O'Connor for a while and your review has certainly piqued my interest all the more. I was never very interested in Southern fiction prior to my move to Nashville, but now that I'm living in the buckle in the Bible belt, I've become increasingly interested in seeing how this part of the world is examined through literature. Great review, as always!Stephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11477615688291798393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-52767246673204219082010-07-19T09:56:38.441-04:002010-07-19T09:56:38.441-04:00*Jill: Ha ha, I've actually been thinking quit...*Jill: Ha ha, I've actually been thinking quite a lot the past week or so about the need to take on something light for a change! On the other hand, Perec's <em>Life A User's Manual</em> alone might have made me "happy" enough to last all year!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911087927983597831.post-6390344135156683392010-07-19T09:44:28.662-04:002010-07-19T09:44:28.662-04:00Don't you read any happy books? I might have ...Don't you read any happy books? I might have to take up a collection to send you Chicken Soup for the Demented Soul....rhapsodyinbookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07041412748239010264noreply@blogger.com