Selected Short Stories of John O'Hara

by John O'Hara, Louis Begley

“John O’Hara’s fiction,” wrote Lionel Trilling, “is preeminent for its social verisimilitude.” Made famous by his bestselling novels, including BUtterfield 8 and Appointment in Samarra, O’Hara (1905–1970) also wrote some of the finest short fiction of the twentieth century.

First published by the Modern Library in 1956, Selected Short Stories of John O’Hara displays the author’s skills as a keen social observer, a refreshingly frank storyteller, and a writer with a brilliant ear for dialogue. “The stories in this volume,” writes Louis Begley in his new Introduction, “show the wide range of [O’Hara’s] interests and an ability to treat with a virtuoso’s ease characters and situations from any place on America’s geographic and social spectrum.”

Stories included:
The decision -- Everything satisfactory -- The moccasins -- Doctor and Mrs. Parsons -- Pardner -- A phase of life -- Walter T. Carriman -- Now we know -- Too young -- Summer's day -- The king of the desert -- Bread alone -- Graven image -- The next-to-last dance of the season -- Where's the game? -- Mrs. Whitman -- Price's always open -- The cold house -- Are we leaving tomorrow? -- No mistakes -- The ideal man -- Do you like it here? -- The doctors son -- Hotel kid -- The public career of Mr. Seymour Harrisburg -- In the morning sun -- War aims -- Secret meeting -- Other women's households -- Over the river and through the wood -- I could have had a yacht -- A respectable place.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, American, 20th Century, The United States Of America, Literature, Literary Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

American writer John Henry O'Hara contributed short stories to the New Yorker and wrote novels, such as BUtterfield 8 (1935) and Ten North Frederick (1955).

Best-selling works of John Henry O'Hara include Appointment in Samarra . People particularly knew him for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue. O'Hara, a keen observer of social status and class differences, wrote frequently about the socially ambitious.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O&#...

Reviews

[Hobart Mariner · Rating 4 out of 5]

O’Hara synonymous with tales of status anxiety, grievance, exclusion, and resentment. Basically those old time 1920s college students in white cardigans or weird hats are the daemons haunting his mind. Very short, harsh, cynical stories for the most part, somewhat like Dubliners but uglier. O’Hara allows himself very little description and only occasionally a flash of elegant prose, like a tinge of color on a black and white cartoon. Often very funny and truthful. It occurred to me that these stories read like Hemingway if he were being more honest and doing less of a macho put-on. Comparisons with Chekhov but he doesn’t have the richness. Many alcoholics inhabit the stories. There’s some influence on Elmore Leonard as well, realistic-ish but still mannered dialogue.

Standouts: “Graven Image” (Republican seeks job in FDR admin but cannot control his snobbery; someone read this on the NYer fiction podcast), “The Decision,” “A Phase of Life” (somewhat sinister couple professionally entertains while scheming against each other), “The Doctor’s Son” (much Chekhov), “Secret Meeting” (elders squash a report of molestation at a high school — remarkably fresh).

[Baba Yaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

a collection of slice of life vignettes from the northeast back in da day. was really delighted by the dialect and the slang of the time (my fave is tagging "see?" to the end of a statement). lots of turns of phrases to put in your pocket for later to make people look at u funny

my copy described o'hara as like a kafka and i definitely see that. hes like a new york kafka, meaning the same sort of ironic, canny observations but less of an undercurrent of existential dread and melancholy. hes more dry about it (kind of an attitude of like "thats life! "whaddyagunnado" or otherwise "arent people kind of ridiculous?") and very occasionally he comes up sympathetic. id compare this to camus

bought this on a whim for my beau and of course i had to read it first. i unexpectedly really enjoyed it and im glad to add o'hara to my collection of ironic little shits

[A.L. Sirois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars for this book of short stories. They are wonderfully well written, with good dialog and a simple spare style, but -- as with much "contemporary" fiction -- very little or nothing actually HAPPENS in most of them. There is not much conflict, and what there is tends to be understated. Perhaps the subtlety eludes me. Although the book was published in 1956, the stories therein were originally published between 1933 and 1947. O'Hara is at his best when exploring the interactions of the rather privileged class of people who are, for the most part, his focus, but there is some casual racism that won't sit well with contemporary readers. These stories are of the "slice of life" type, and I personally don't find them particularly stimulating. I have never read any of his novels, and don't feel moved to do so. I guess I'm a genre writer first, last and foremost. O'Hara has a very good reputation, but I suspect his work is not nearly as widely read as it used to be.

[Barfoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spent junior high & high school years as a western PA transplant between 1972 & 1981. O'hara's observations about PA & western PA - wow. A very very small "elite" & elite wannabees - oh yeah. ;) (foxrun foxtrot got the trots...) NAMING your absolutely zero special mcmansion - are you serious???

Some things never change? God, I do hope.

In that era - PA steel was shutting down. 50% or better population left? Worth a mention to the kiddies at the time - Nah. The entire PA population still fits in a single 814 area code west of State College? I think so.

Above- filling in the back-story - O'Hara world view.

[Thing Two · Rating 4 out of 5]

John O'Hara wrote short stories. In his lifetime he had over 200 of them published in The New Yorker, those short filler stories sandwiched between lengthier articles. This collection of 13 is a wonderful example of his gift.

O'Hara wrote about what he knew - small town life, WWII, and the invisible social caste of the US. He is a master of recording dialogue, and creating swift stories that end dramatically. And once I saw Dorothy Parker had written a blurb for him on the cover, I was hooked.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though the introduction to this book credits O'Hara with having written stories that capture the speech of the characters and remain fresh though written quite some time ago, my feeling as I plodded my way through was that I'd read enough of his stories many years ago and shouldn't have bothered to bring this collection home. I just couldn't rid myself of the thought that perhaps - at least for the time being - I'd read enough fiction and should branch out a little.

[Bob Peru · Rating 5 out of 5]

glad to see that john o'hara is now getting the respect he deserves (again). seems like penguin is reprinting some of his work. it'd be especially good to see the gibbsville stories in one big volume back in print. or even the library of america giving o'hara the full treatment. his work is canonical. american stylee.

with maughamian endings.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This year's beach reading. The style took me a few stories before I really got into it, but he's one of those short story writers the sum of whose stories add up greater than the parts. Plus I'm on a learn about Philly history kick.

[Renae]

I didn't read them all.. all of the short stories. The ones I read, well.. one I read was somewhat ironic. Another one was confusing; I think there may have been implicit drug use, possibly prostitution? mafia relations perhaps. Nothing too exciting.

[Gary Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

O'Hara is an underappreciated, and oft-overlooked, part of great American literature.

[Niki · Rating 4 out of 5]

John O'Hara is a worthy read. His short fiction far outpaces his novels, but he is funny and weird and I really like him.

[Monty J Heying · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly plot-driven stories. The characters didn't draw me in.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been vaguely familiar with O'Hara but had never read him. He was a revelation. His works are highly realistic and full of social observation of mostly the upper middle classes and the social divisions of the time. The stories, with one exception, are short - 7 to 10 pages. The exception, The Doctor's Son, is probably autobiographical and deals with an influenza epidemic and the complications brought by a visisting doctor. Because the story was able to "breathe' (being 30 pages) I thought it was the best of the collection.

The introduction claims that O'Hara was one of the originators of the "New Yorker story." I can see that - the stories end abruptly and make you think about what really happened.

Worth a look.

[Ellis Knox · Rating 3 out of 5]

O'Hara is hailed as one of the masters of the short story and, okay, he paints a good picture. But when all you are is a sketch artist, there's only so much I can admire and only so many sketches I can take at a sitting. I think maybe if I were a New York native, and if I were reading his stories the way they were meant to be read, every week or month in a magazine, then I might have had a different reaction.

The main thing here is that there's no character development. They're all vignettes. There's rarely a surprise or a moral. It's just a sketch. Masterfully done, with a fine eye for detail and an even finer eye for dialog, but most stories are less than ten pages and they don't go anywhere. I can picture him sitting in a cafe or a church or a courthouse. Something catches his eye. He jots a few notes, goes back to his hotel (of course I picture him living in a hotel) and bangs out another for Harpers or the New Yorker. I really did want to like him better, but I've given up.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have the hardcover