Book Review: Abbess of Andalusia

  The Abbess of Andalusia was the first book I've read about Miss O'Connor and it has not been the last.

  Flannery O'Connor's style is jarring to many.  It was when she was alive, and it remains so.  To understand why she wrote as she did, it is important to find out about her,as a person.  Ms. Murray's work is among the books that seeks to help with this.

  Lorraine V. Murray makes her observations as a Catholic.  This is very important in reading Miss O'Connor, who was unabashedly Catholic in an environment that was not always sympathetic to that.  I did find that at times, there was a stridency to Ms. Murray's statements about O'Connor's beliefs that was off-putting.  It is possible that I felt this way because I was already seeing what was being pointed out. 

  What I gained from this book was a greater ability to see O'Connor's incorporation of Catholicism into her writing.  Her writing is anything but subtle, generally speaking, but in writing for a general market, she had to be subtle in incorporating her spirituality. 

  There is room for editing in this little book.  There were a couple of sentences which did not make sense, and a sentence that was repeated twice on the same page. I hope that future editions tidy that up. 

  I would recommend this book as a companion to anyone interested in Miss O'Connor's writing, particularly to those who are puzzled in trying to think of her as a Catholic writer.  It will help the reader to gain a valuable insight into Miss O'Connor's fascinating personality and noted intellect.  She faced a number of challenges which helped to shape her as a writer.


 I wrote this review of The Abbess of Andalusia for the free Catholic Book review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods.  I receive free books for writings the reviews.