Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose (FSG Classics) Paperback – January 1, 1969

For me, Flannery O'Connor is a late-in-life discovery - and revelation. MYSTERY AND MANNERS is a collection of her occasional prose, as edited by her good friends Sally and Robert Fitzgerald. It consists of 1) articles and essays O'Connor published in her lifetime, and 2) material from her papers (many being typescripts for lectures) that were never published. Among other things, the collection demonstrates that O'Connor was almost as distinguished and inimitable a writer of essays as she was of fiction.

The first piece in the volume, "The King of the Birds", is sui generis. It is a paean to peacocks, of which O'Connor kept as many as forty on the farm on which she spent the last years of her life. "Many people, I have found, are congenitally unable to appreciate the sight of a peacock. Once or twice I have been asked what the peacock is `good for'--a question which gets no answer from me because it deserves none." That essay originally appeared in "Holiday" magazine in September 1961, a magazine my parents subscribed to and I as a boy religiously paged through, which probably explains why I had a faint sense of déjà vu when reading it. It must have been among the best pieces "Holiday" every published. It is exceptional.

The remaining essays all deal with, in one way or another, literature and the craft of writing. Many of them are excellent. Several of them probably would be of great interest, even assistance, to prospective or struggling writers. But they also are of interest for readers and students of literature, especially since most are written in a very readable fashion. In these pieces, one finds such gems as these:

"I have found that anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the Northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic."

"All novelists are fundamentally seekers and describers of the real, but the realism of each novelist will depend on his view of the ultimate reaches of reality."

"The meaning of a story has to be embodied in it, has to be made concrete in it. A story is a way to say something that can't be said any other way, and it takes every word in the story to say what the meaning is. You tell a story because a statement would be inadequate. When anybody asks what a story is about, the only proper thing is to tell him to read the story."

In some of the essays, O'Connor comments on her own works, and of course those comments are valuable to the student or fan of her fiction. One such comment: "Much of my fiction takes its character from a reasonable use of the unreasonable, though the reasonableness of my use of it may not always be apparent. The assumptions that underlie this use of it, however, are those of the central Christian mysteries."

That quote points to another theme of these essays, and the overt, central theme of four of them: Roman Catholicism and the writing of fiction. Flannery O'Connor was a devout Roman Catholic and a very thoughtful amateur theologian. I only skimmed the four essays dedicated to this theme, as it is a subject of little interest or meaning to me. But it is somehow touching to see a person as intelligent as she laboring so mightily with her concerns.

At two points in the book, O'Connor divides fiction into the categories of the good, the bad, and the indifferent. For me, these pieces divide into the good and the indifferent. I should also mention that as fine as most of the pieces are, O'Connor's voice and style vary little from piece to piece, leading to some wearisomeness if more than three are read in one sitting.

My writing mentor recommended this book to me, as I often struggle with being a "good" person who writes "dark" material. I found it to be extremely helpful. Ms. O'Connor's grasp of writing what others call "grotesque" is, to me, a beautiful representation of the reality of human nature: not one of us is either all good or all bad, but rather a confused combination of both.
This book is a great read into Ms. O'Connor's writings and essays, as well as a good manual for how to grasp your inner writer and plow headfirst into the mystery of the human spirit.
Mystery and Manners has helped me set aside my own notions of grace and mercy and justice and instead embrace a bigger God who is present even in the "grotesque" .
I believe the lessons I've learned from this book will continue to make me a better writer.

If you read strictly for pleasure, this will give it to you. If you are a writer, you have no business not reading this book. Not for nothing is O'Connor heralded among the great writers, Southern or otherwise. Any writer of any description can benefit from her insights into the craft of writing and storytelling.

MYSTERY AND MANNERS is a discourse on writings in which the great O'Connor reveals to the reader the grand purpose of her prose. The transcendent is heaven, that which is unseen and mysterious. History is moving towards the goal of being with God in heaven, but life is lived out on the level of the mundane (manners). The intersection of the two centers each and every story that O'Connor ever wrote. Relentless in her eschatological drive, beautiful in her style, sharp with her wit,
this is a feast of intellectual and artistic delight. There is nothing quite like reading Flannery O'Connor, and this is a good place to start.

This book is a gem. Chapter three; The Nature and Aim of Fiction; Writing Short Stories; and On Her Own Work; should be a part of the syllabus for every writing class. Moreover, it should be a part of every American students course of study.

O'Conner's clarity in expressing her understanding about the writer's place in the world and fiction as an instrument to convert pencil lead to gold while embracing her own reserve is presented with such humor and grace as to be transcendent.

There are few writers, Chandler is one, who have had such influence from such a small body of work that we can only marvel at the wonderful gift of what they did write and morn our loss that there is no more.

When I first read some of Flannery O'Connor's short stories I was baffled and a little disturbed by them. This book helps the reader to gain a deeper appreciation of O'Connor's craft, of her use of the grotesque, and how she exercises her art. To read O'Connor merely on the surface is to do it all wrong. There are many levels on which she is writing and on which she can be read. These essays not only serve as a guide for those seeking to understand O'Connor and her art, but in a more general way they serve for all readers and writers alike, by providing insights on the craft of writing.

I haven't finished reading the book yet but it is wonderful to hear O'Connor's voice whether reading her fictional short stories, her memories of life on the farm, her advice to writers and educators, or other discussions with colleagues. Her insight and common sense about her faith and her craft are invaluable. The physical book itself is delightful---beautiful cover, don't you think?

Julia's Quest
Light at Summer's End

This is a wonderfully insightful collection of essays about writing, fiction, and the Southern Christian writer. I'm an English teacher and a writer. This is a must-read, especially if you are a Southern Christian writer. I found myself laughing out loud, and reading aloud to myself, and underlined half the book. I devoured it and it was good. Now, I believe I need to reread it and often until I digest the whole thing. She was a genius.