These authors

[LdyMaria]

For some reason I couldn’t post in the book section…

I’m curious as to what you think of these authors and their works:

Anne Rice***

Flannery O’Connor

Graham Greene***

Fr. Andrew Greeley

Sister Wendy Beckett

Oscar Wilde

Goethe

 

[FickleFreckled]

Ann Rice - haven’t ever read her horror stuff, no desire to, but her books on the life of Jesus are very good. I think two have been released so far. However, I’m reading her “Out of Darkness” account of her return to Catholicism and to me, at least, it seems pretentious and self-involved.

Flannery O’Connor - Wonderful!

Andrew Greeley - I’m sure he was very good to his mother. At least I hope so.

I’ve never read Oscar Wilde, I’ve only seen Sister Wendy on PBS and I’m pretty sure Goethe would be WAY over my head so I’ve never tried.

You didn’t ask, but I can recommend a a couple of books - City of Joy by Dominique LaPierre about a young Polish priest and a young American doctor who go live among the poorest of the poor in India. If you didn’t see the movie, that’s a good thing. Forget the movie. The book’s amazing. It’s based on an amalgam of true stories.
The second is very old; Diary of a Country Priest by Bernanos. Not for the easily-depressed!

 

[Mamselle_Duroc]

Flannery O’Connor. Such a pity she isn’t more well-known. Her letters, too, are very fascinating… lots of great stuff about the purpose of fiction and whatnot.

I haven’t read Oscar Wilde extensively, but his Importance of Being Earnest is such a funny play… a family favourite.

I love Goethe’s poetry. When I took up German his Wandrers Nachtlied was one of my first reading assignments. Pure beauty, however simple it might be. It never fails to remind me of home.

 

[HarmonyServant]

I’ve only read one of Anne Rice’s vampire novels, and it was quite good. Obviously not in line with the Faith, but as a novel in its own right, it was an enjoyable read. Her books on the Lord – wow! Very, very well done. I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoyed them.

 

[sallybranwyn]

Flannery O’Connor. Such a pity she isn’t more well-known. Her letters, too, are very fascinating… lots of great stuff about the purpose of fiction and whatnot.

I’m surprised by this statement. I think Flannery O’Connor is very well known. We read her “A Good Man is Hard to Find” in school and I think most schools have that story, at least, on their required reading list.

 

[PoliSciProf]

Anne Rice*** No comment since I have never read anything she has written.

Flannery O’Connor: A Catholic treasure! She is all to often dismissed as a minor writer of Southern gothic. She will be read for a long time since she writes well, has a coherent vision of the world and is very reflective about the human condition.

Graham Greene***He has said he has written “entertainments” to pay the bills and more serious work. He was too hard on himself. He is an interesting writer who tackles tough themes and handles them well.

Fr. Andrew Greeley A good sociologist who has written about problems within the Church. I think he often gets the problems right but not necessarily the answers. I have not read his novels but I know many folks who enjoy them.

Sister Wendy Beckett: I loved her TV show. She knows her art history and has a good appreciation of modern art.

Oscar Wilde: A funny writer when he wants to be.

Goethe One of the greatest in Western Civilization. Everyone should read his Faust. I wish I could read him in German.

 

[Rascalking]

Anne Rice-Not a very interesting writer, but I haven’t read her “Christ” works. I just don’t dig vampire stuff.

Flannery O’Connor-The guy before me said a Catholic treasure-I say a NATIONAL treasure. Fantastic writer, argubly the best southern writer (with all due apologies to William Faulkner, who I also love) of all time.l

Graham Greene***-Heard of, never read.

Fr. Andrew Greeley-He really doesn’t like the church. Take him with a grain of salt.

Sister Wendy Beckett-who?

Oscar Wilde-I love him, Dorian Gray is great, An Ideal Husband, The Importance Of Being Earnest-his fairy tales are a special treat as well.

Goethe-On my list. As an English major, I am ashamed to say I haven’t read him.

 

[chaunceygardner]

For some reason I couldn’t post in the book section…

I’m curious as to what you think of these authors and their works:

Anne Rice***

Never read her.

Flannery O’Connor

One of the best short story writers ever. Many with Catholic/Christian themes.

Graham Greene***

Have enjoyed several of his books; shows great insight into the workings of the world, and how inane much of it is.

Fr. Andrew Greeley

Have read some of his non-fiction books. He’s okay, and I enjoyed his columns of commentary years ago. Not on my list of favorites.

Sister Wendy Beckett

Only somewhat familiar with her; not aware of what books she has written.

Oscar Wilde

A very troubled and tortured soul. But a wonderful poet and playwright. Perhaps that’s what it takes. I found the “Ballad of Reading Gaol” in a book of poetry that my mother had, and read it when I was quite young. It was then and still is one of my favorite poems. There are many biblical references and much Christian imagery in it. Here is the last stanza:

“And all men kill the thing they love,
By all let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!”

Goethe

I have not read him in many years, but still have some of his writings in my collection. Author, philosopher, scientist, in the genius category. Very influential.

 

[Shin]

For some reason I couldn’t post in the book section…

I’m curious as to what you think of these authors and their works:

Anne Rice***

From what I hear, close to porn with the excess of sensuality, don’t know if it’s actually the case but she hasn’t sounded very clean minded in her literature. She has supposedly become Catholic, but it doesn’t look like she has genuinely understood what the Faith has to say about these matters.

Fr. Andrew Greeley

Pornography and priests go together like Hell and fire.

Oscar Wilde

Did he repent on his deathbed? I -think- I heard that he repented at some point.

 

[Matrix_Refugee]

LdyMaria;5593848:

Oscar Wilde

Did he repent on his deathbed? I -think- I heard that he repented at some point.

Yep, he did: I’ve been by turns praying for his soul and invoking his intercession (so far as I know, there aren’t any canonized saints who dealt with same-sex attraction, so this will have to do). His “De Profundis” is, in part, his conversion story: while he was in prison, he read John Henry Cardinal Newman’s “Apologia Pro Vita Sua”.

Also: In “The Picture of Dorian Grey”, he wrote an especially glowing bit of praise for the beauty and the splendor of the Catholic Mass – and this was years before his conversion!

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

For some reason I couldn’t post in the book section…

I’m curious as to what you think of these authors and their works:

Anne Rice***

Flannery O’Connor

Graham Greene***

Fr. Andrew Greeley

Sister Wendy Beckett

Oscar Wilde

Goethe

Sister Wendy mentioned in the same breath as Goethe ? That’s not something I thought I’d see.​

I don’t have any strong opinions on any of them. A while ago I read a very amusing short story by Greene, & Wilde is a good teller of short stories.

 

[cjellis27]

I really enjoyed Anne Rice’s last two works portraying Jesus in the first person. I find myself excited to see what she will do with her third novel when Jesus really comes in to his public life. I used to read her Vampire Chronicles about 10 years ago, but they just don’t hold my attention for very long anymore.

As to Sister Wendy, I’ve never seen her TV program, but I loved her book on prayer. It stressed that one should pray first and read about praying second. I have personally found the way she describes prayer as helpful to keep in mind when I begin to pray every evening.

 

[puzzleannie]

there is Flannery OConnor, in a class by herself, absolute master of the art of the short story.

then there are all the rest.

 

[basenji]

I am a total Sister Wendy fanboy. Her books (and videos) on art and prayer are a delight. Heck, SHE is a delight.

A priest once recommended that I read a book by Fr. Andrew Greeley. He could tell by my reaction that I was taken aback. This was a non-fiction title and not a novel and it was written well before Fr. Greeley’s CNN/NCR days. That said, The Catholic Imagination, was a solid and informative read. The cover alone, a close-up of Bernini’s “Ecstasy of Saint Theresa”, says and shows a lot about who we are as Catholics as opposed to other faiths.

I’m embarrassed at never having read any Flannery O’Connor and only having seen films based on Graham Greene’s work. I should mosey over to my stacks of unread books and move their stuff closer to the top.