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A Good Hard Look (2011)

by Ann Napolitano(Favorite Author)

3.89 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1594202923 (ISBN13: 9781594202926)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Penguin Press HC, The

review 1: This book may not be for everyone, but I liked it a lot. Southern Gothic written really well with some tight symmetry. It was clear a lot of thought was put into this book, and I appreciated that. Author tells the story of a snapshot of writer Flannery O’Connor’s life – all in the method and style of O’Connor’s writing itself. As such, it’s a bit dark, a bit negative, a bit caustic, a bit judgmental. But I liked it. It was thought-provoking and different. Lots of thoughts were running through my mind as I was reading, which I have not researched or thought about further, but I just was wondering about them: 1) “A Good Hard Look,” the title, contains many of the same words as O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” – was this done on purpo... morese? If so, why? Or just a coincidence? I don’t know. 2) The theme of the peacocks – like a lot of eyes, always watching. Interesting. Liked this. 3) Bill’s gunshot simultaneously killed Joe *and,* indirectly, Rose. Loved the tight symmetry and structure of this: Southern Gothic, hubris comes before a fall, it all came crashing down all at ones – loved it. 4) Lastly, O’Connor died from lupus. That is the second book I have read recently where lupus was a major factor (the author of the Harper Lee book has lupus); also, we have a family friend whose 30-year-old daughter died of lupus this past year. I had no idea lupus was such a devastating disease. Apparently, I was completely, 100%, A-1 wrong about this. Summary: all in all, there’s a lot to think about in this book. I’d love to read it again when I have more time, or in a book club type atmosphere, or in a class atmosphere. Maybe I could even just look up some of these things to clear up some of my questions about it. I enjoyed this read very much.
review 2: The raucous screaming of peacocks pierces the night before Cookie Himmel’s wedding. Melvin is shocked by the vigor of the bird’s voices and wonders what other strangeness he will discover in his bride’s Georgia hometown. The peacocks are the pets of the town’s resident celebrity, author Flannery O’Connor. Their lives will intersect with profound consequences. Flannery has come home to be cared for by her mother, Lupus has crippled the author. Melvin finds Flannery invigorating despite her disease, she seems so alive and spontaneous to the very proper New Yorker. Even the best of intentions can go tragically awry. less

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