“Flannery” by Brad Gooch

I’m leading a book discussion soon on Flannery O’Connor’s first novel Wise Blood, which I found both fascinating and confounding. To research it, I thought I’d glance at Brad Gooch’s recent Flannery: A Life of Flannery O’Connor, but instead I read the whole thing, even though the beginning is slow and dull. (Do we really need so many quotes from schoolmates and teachers in grade school?) But once O’Connor begins to write and pursue being a writer, things get interesting. I appreciated the context the biography provides for her novels and stories, though it did spoil a few endings of some of her stories I hadn’t yet read. If I could have finished The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor before the biography, that would have been a better order of operations.

2 Responses to ““Flannery” by Brad Gooch”

  1. Jennifer Reese Says:

    What I remember most vividly from this book - which I’m not 100% sure I even finished — were the fancy pet chickens. My son has fancy pet chickens, two of whom were killed by a raccoon just last night!

  2. girldetective Says:

    Oh, no! Poor Owen. Stupid raccoons. O’Connor’s obsession with weird birds was interesting, from her peacocks to the bizarre chickens. She even liked ducks!