Best Catholic Fiction?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MGEISING
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
40.png
thann:
Flannery O’Connor is good, but her stories are quirky.
Click to expand...
I’ve been hearing that Flannery O’Connor is a great Catholic writer and that I should be reading her stuff. I’m trying to do some writing of my own and I thought perhaps I can learn some things from reading her.

So some months ago I popped down to Half Price Books and found a paperback of “3 by Flannery O’Connor” for 48 cents (plus tax).

But it just didn’t seem that interesting to me. Finally yesterday and today I read the short stories “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, “The River” and “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”

Well, “quirky” she is. She definitely writes well and tells a great story. And the details are wonderful. I don’t need my reading material to always end on a cheery note, but there is no danger of that in what I just read.

Maybe it’s because I grew up in a city in the North and she wrote these stores about hardscrabble life in the rural South. And there aren’t a lot of “heroes” in these stories.

I guess maybe that is what life is all about though. North or South.

But I’ll finish the rest of the book (it contains some more short stories and also the longer “Wise Blood” and “The Violent Bear It Away.”
 
40.png
Suzannecc:
How about Pillars of the Earth or The Name of the Rose.

I’ve never been quite sure quite how to take the ending of Name of the Rose. Adso seems to end up thinking that everything is without meaning. But is that what the author thinks? Knowing nothing of the author and having read almost nothing else by him, it is impossible for me to say.

However, Ecco did write an essay on why the Macintosh is a Catholic computer and the IBM is a Protestant machine. 🙂
Click to expand...
 
In response to Ricatholic who recommended ANGELS AND DEMONS:

There’s a post about that novel on the “Ask an Apologist” forum.
 
I recently found a book by Ralph McInerny called The Priest. Haven’t read it yet. Does anyboby like his work?

st. julie
 
40.png
maryhodge:
In response to Ricatholic who recommended ANGELS AND DEMONS:

There’s a post about that novel on the “Ask an Apologist” forum.
Click to expand...
Why would anybody think a work of fiction would be totally true? The point at the end is that the good guy ends up as pope and that faith triumphs.

As for all the “bad” things about the church in the fictional A&D, they pale in comparison to some of the actual events in the history of the church and the popes.

Peace
 
st julie:
I recently found a book by Ralph McInerny called The Priest. Haven’t read it yet. Does anyboby like his work?

st. julie
Click to expand...
I’ve read one of his “Father Dowling” mysteries called Judas Priest. It was ok but I’m just not a big murder mystery fan. I really enjoyed his book The Red Hat though about all the inner workings of Church politics.
 
Anything by Malachi Martin, especially “Windswept House.”
 
I just thought of two more:

Canticle for Leibowitz by Miller, a post nuclear holocaust science fiction novel. (But don’t bother reading the sequel that was published after his death; it’s very poor.)

Any of the Don Camillo books by Guareschi. Originally written in Italian, these take place after WWII. Don Camillo is the parish priest of a little village in the Po River valley His worthy opponent and former wartime comrade is Peppone, the communist mayor,
 
Whoa! I LOVE Don Camillo!! There are several of them, but they’re hard to find. I also like A Philadelphia Catholic in King James’ Court , recommended by MakerTeacher. It’s a great read, and I learned a lot (and I’m no youth!). GK Chesterton’s Father Brown books are great, too.

Peace,
Linda
 
Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo

The Happy prince,
The Young King,
The Fisherman and His Soul,
Salome,
and the Picture of Dorian Gray, all by Catholic convert Oscar Wilde.
 
I have heard that Les Miserables was on the Index of Forbidden Books. Does anyone know if this is true and why it was there? It seemed very pro-Catholic to me.
 
DominvsVobiscvm said:
The Exorcist and Canticle for Leibowitz.
Click to expand...

Yes, The Exorcist. Some good Catholic themes there. And a movie “prequel” is coming out soon!
 
40.png
MGEISING:
No - I am not that talented … I like reading them. The BEST SO FAR for me is Michael O’Brien’s Books … absolutely awesome!
Click to expand...
MGEISING – can you recommened one to start with (Michael O’Brien)? Thanks
 
40.png
Mijoy2:
MGEISING – can you recommened one to start with (Michael O’Brien)? Thanks
Click to expand...
Hi:

The book lists what you should read first - when I go home I will look and I will let you know.

They are huge books, but I am telling you - they are page turners and so awesome!

No LEFT BEHIND stuff in these books :eek: :eek: … true Catholic (Scriptural) Writings! 👍
 
Sister Teresita & the Spirit by “Father Fractious” is a charming little satire on post-Vatican II religious life done as a series of letters between Sister Teresita and her increasingly bizarre superiors. I thought it was out of print, but I recently noticed that it was in Ignatius Press’s sale section for just a few dollars.
 
A couple of oldies but goodies:

Keys of the Kingdom (rent the video too, great film)
Vicar of Christ by Walter Murphy
Magnificent Obsession
 
Ray Marshall:
I’ve been hearing that Flannery O’Connor is a great Catholic writer and that I should be reading her stuff. I’m trying to do some writing of my own and I thought perhaps I can learn some things from reading her.

So some months ago I popped down to Half Price Books and found a paperback of “3 by Flannery O’Connor” for 48 cents (plus tax).

But it just didn’t seem that interesting to me. Finally yesterday and today I read the short stories “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, “The River” and “The Life You Save May Be Your Own.”

Well, “quirky” she is. She definitely writes well and tells a great story. And the details are wonderful. I don’t need my reading material to always end on a cheery note, but there is no danger of that in what I just read.

Maybe it’s because I grew up in a city in the North and she wrote these stores about hardscrabble life in the rural South. And there aren’t a lot of “heroes” in these stories.

I guess maybe that is what life is all about though. North or South.

But I’ll finish the rest of the book (it contains some more short stories and also the longer “Wise Blood” and “The Violent Bear It Away.”
Click to expand...
I’ve been reading “Wise Blood” as well…she sure has a “style”… George Weigel speaks about her in his book “Letters to a Young Catholic” where he also mentions a collection of her letters under the title, The Habit of Being" by Sally Fitzgerald who had been a dear friend of Ms. O’Connor. Annunciata:)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top