A Frank O'Connor Reader

Irish Studies, Syracuse University Press

by Frank O'Connor, Michael Steinman (Editor)

Frank O'Connor (1903-1966) is known primarily for his short stories, and fine ones they are. There are seventeen of them in this Reader, and the best of them, in the words of Richard Ellmann "stir those facial muscles which, we are told, are the same for both laughing and weeping." Except for the masterpiece, "Guests of the Nation," the stories included here have been out of print for twenty years, and one story had been previously unpublished. But this is a Reader and it celebrates the creative diversity of one of this century's finest writers. Here one can also sample O'Connor's skillful translations of Irish poetry, including "The Lament for Art O'Leary." There are a number of self-portraits, including "Meet Frank O'Connor" and "Writing a Story-One Man's Way." The final section includes a number of O'Connor's finest essays, from pieces on Yeats, Joyce, and Mozart, to ones on English and Irish pubs and one simply titled, "Ireland": "No one who does not love the sense of the past should ever come near us; nobody who does, whatever our faults may be, should give us the hard word."

Hardcover

First published April 1, 1994

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Rue Baldry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the short stories a lot more interesting than the rest, though there were good moments in the life writing and essays. I didn't take to what was presented of O'Connor the man. I've met too many highly opinionated middle aged men like that, especially in the arts. I wasn't always comfortable with his sympathies shown in the stories, either.

That said, his sentences are finely wrought and some characters and situations will stay with me. I'm not sure I always understood the point of all the stories, because he leaves things very open and unexpressed. I wanted to read him because I've heard a few people say Guests of the Nation is their favourite of all short stories. I still don't quite see why.

[Conrad Sansbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

This compilation includes O’Connor’s best known work, such as Guests of the Nation, describing events in the Irish civil war, as well as lesser known short stories, articles, poetry and essays. His portrayals of early-mid 20th century Irish characters, their lives and attitudes are intimate, unaffected and immediate. He captures in high definition dissonant Irish attitudes and the particular speech patterns that make the Irish familiar throughout the world.

[Chris Jaffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

The short stories were very well-done; often effectively bittersweet portraits of life in small town, early 20th century Ireland. The poems (just translations he made of others' works?) I could mostly take or leave. The self-portraits and essays were decent, but the real heart of this is clearly the short-stories.

I could go with throwing in more short stories, and lightening the load on the rest.