Light On Dark Water

Flannery O’Connor’s Prayer Journal

I finally bought and read this a couple of weeks ago. I suspect most people who read this blog and would be interested have already read it, but in case that's not true, I'll say that anyone interested in Flannery O'Connor should read it, both for what it reveals about her and for what it is in itself. 

Most of it is the searching self-scrutiny of a young and devout soul, and insofar as it is that, it is more or less what one would expect. In saying so, I don't mean that it isn't good, only that it isn't striking. What is striking, though, are the moments when typically O'Connor sparks suddenly fly from the page. I'm resisting the temptation to quote any of them, because they're better encountered in context. Several are extremely funny, or at least I found them so, and all are a bit startling, making you realize that there is more in this young woman than piety alone. This shouldn't be surprising, considering that she was already working on stories that would soon become Wise Blood.

To call it a slender book doesn't really convey just how small it is: the journal proper, typeset, is only 37 pages of relatively large type on relatively small pages with relatively large margins. The facsimile is longer, and though I didn't expect to find it interesting, I did. The original notebook was a black Sterling one of a type many people my age and older may recognize (but then for all I know it may still be available). Reading the facsimile is worthwhile if only because at least one of the funny bits is even funnier there, by reason of its placement. 

Maclin Horton
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47 responses to “Flannery O’Connor’s Prayer Journal”

  1. Janet

    I read the first page of this and then forgot I had it. That’s one thing about Kindle books–you don’t see them lying around.
    AMDG

    Reply
  2. Mac

    Oh, I just assumed you had read it. I don’t think the facsimile would work too well on a Kindle-sized screen.

    Reply
  3. Janet

    Is this something I could see at a bookstore?
    I can’t tell you how many billions of those note books we have had in our house–and still have, although I don’t think they are Sterling. There’s one in my car right now.
    AMDG

    Reply
  4. Mac

    If you have a pretty good bookstore close by. I don’t have any idea how well it’s sold.

    Reply
  5. Louise

    I think I’d like to read it.

    Reply
  6. Mac

    You probably would like it. The actual book (as opposed to electronic format) is overpriced at $18.00, but very nicely produced, so I didn’t mind the expense too much.

    Reply
  7. Paul

    I was tempted but was rather put off by the price, given that it’s effectively for a leaflet with padding.

    Reply
  8. Paul

    If I lived in the US I would try to get hold of it through the local library. Here her major works are not even available that way.

    Reply
  9. Mac

    Yes, it is effectively that.
    I must say that I’m a little shocked that her books are not in libraries. Though I guess there’s some justification for it in non-English-speaking countries.

    Reply
  10. Paul

    Oddly, they have everything Dan Brown has ever written.

    Reply
  11. Mac

    That’s more than odd, that’s sick.

    Reply
  12. Paul

    Perhaps I should try to get on to the library board.

    Reply
  13. Mac

    I’m sure it would be to the library’s benefit.

    Reply
  14. Rob G

    bookfinder.com has new and used copies in the $13/14 range, shipping included. You can find outfits on there that ship from anywhere to anywhere. Just make sure you choose the appropriate destination and currency when you do your search.
    As Mac says, it’s a very nicely done little book, so the $18 isn’t really too bad.

    Reply
  15. Janet

    Apropos of nothing, I am listening to True Grit on CD in the car. It is absolutely wonderful.
    AMDG

    Reply
  16. Mac

    You and others were saying that the recent movie was really good, too. I seem to have some kind of prejudice against it, and I don’t know why. Must have something to do with the old John Wayne movie version–which I never even saw, so it’s really irrational.

    Reply
  17. Janet

    Have you seen it?
    AMDG

    Reply
  18. Janet

    The new one, I mean?
    AMDG

    Reply
  19. Mac

    No. By “prejudice against it”, I meant against True Grit in any form. I know it’s irrational. Maybe I’m part Russian.

    Reply
  20. Janet

    For one thing it’s very, very funny. The humor is sarcastic sometimes, but there’s something about Mattie’s matter of fact way of wording things that makes it seem unintentionally sarcastic. I’ve never just read the book. I don’t know if it would have the same effect if it wasn’t read aloud but I am just loving every minute of this.
    AMDG

    Reply
  21. Janet

    Has anyone seen the 2010 movie Sword of Honour?
    AMDG

    Reply
  22. Mac

    Not I.

    Reply
  23. Janet

    I wonder if it’s any good. I can’t imagine that it is.
    AMDG

    Reply
  24. Mac

    My default position is always to assume that such adaptations won’t be any good. Sometimes I get a happy surprise. I haven’t read the book so I don’t have any opinion on the feasibility of this one working. But considering that it’s a trilogy….

    Reply
  25. Paul

    It was OK. Not brilliant.

    Reply
  26. Paul

    Actually, I was assuming Janet meant the TV miniseries with Daniel Craig, but that’s older than 2010, so if there’s a more recent film version I haven’t seen it.

    Reply
  27. Grumpy

    If I didn’t bin my copy of the prayer journal, anyone can have mine. I thought it should not have been printed.

    Reply
  28. Grumpy

    No, I had a look and I did not bin it, someone to my surprise. The offer stands, for the first taker. I think it’s – well, shall we say, Mac is seeing something in it which I did not see.

    Reply
  29. Mac

    I’ll agree with you to the extent of saying it’s mainly interesting because she wrote it. It’s not a devotional classic or anything.

    Reply
  30. Janet

    Well, I’d be glad to have it if no one else wants it.
    AMDG

    Reply
  31. Janet

    Paul, My mistake, it was 2001 and it must be a miniseries because Netflix lists it as being 3 hours long. You can’t tell that on IMDB.
    AMDG

    Reply
  32. Grumpy

    Its yours

    Reply
  33. Janet

    You must have my address in your Fb inbox somewhere, but I’ll send it again so you won’t have to search.
    AMDG

    Reply
  34. Louise

    “Oddly, they have everything Dan Brown has ever written.”
    I’m an Australian, so that just doesn’t shock me, but it should. 😛

    Reply
  35. Janet

    About your prejudice against True Grit,, Maclin, I have been meaning to remind you that you had the same sort of prejudice against The Princess Bride.
    AMDG

    Reply
  36. Mac

    Not saying I believe the prejudice is justified, just explaining that it’s there.

    Reply
  37. Mac

    What I mean is, it’s not that I doubt your judgment. 🙂 Perish the thought….

    Reply
  38. Janet

    I’m just saying that you overcame your prejudice against PB, so you ought to give TG a try.
    AMDG

    Reply
  39. Janet

    And you have, in the past, doubted my judgement, which is totally incomprehensible to me, but maybe you’ve got over that, too. It would definitely be to your benefit.
    AMDG

    Reply
  40. Janet

    We need to take a field trip here:
    http://development.andalusiafarm.org/
    AMDG

    Reply
  41. Mac

    I’ve thought about it. It’s on my One Of These Days list.

    Reply
  42. Grumpy

    I loved the Cohen brothers True Grit.
    Because it was always being recommended here and by a certain young professor of English literature, I watched Princess Bride. I did enjoy it a lot but it was not in my top ten favourite movies. Still, v. glad I watched.
    Well, for me, anyway, Rob G. has finally after ten years or whatever recommended a dud. I watched Noah on the plane to England in the summer (I think on the way to Strat’s funeral) and I thought it was dreadful. Stll grateful for 10 years of good movie recommendations….

    Reply
  43. Craig

    Contra Grumpy, I saw Noah a few weeks ago, and I really enjoyed it. Maybe your grumpiness was getting the better of you? 😎 Also, contra Barbara Nicolosi, I particularly liked the rock monsters.
    I’ve never made a list of my Top 10 movies, but Princess Bride would have a shot at it. Sure, it’s corny, but there is no other film from which I can recite from memory comparable amounts of dialogue. It grows on me each time I see it.

    Reply
  44. Mac

    My view of PB is much the same as Grumpy’s. Very enjoyable, but not among my top favorites. As for Noah, I just find it very hard to imagine that I would like it, based on what I’ve read about it. Maybe I’m missing out, but I guess I’ll chance it.

    Reply
  45. Mac

    And speaking of PB, I think I mentioned a while back how dismaying it was to see…oh heck, what’s her name?…the gal who played the princess…Robin Wright in the role of evil wife of evil Frank Underwood in House of Cards. It was hard not to think that the person she was playing bore too much resemblance to the person she has in fact become. As I probably said then, I hope it’s just that she’s that good an actress.

    Reply
  46. Rob G

    Sorry you disliked ‘Noah,’ Grumpy! But it’s definitely not a film that engenders mild reaction either way.
    I’m with Mac on PB — very good movie but not an alltime fave.
    It would be interesting to have a thread where we listed our top five or top ten favorite films. Or did we do that before?

    Reply
  47. Mac

    Not that I remember, but it would be fun. I’ll do a quick post on my lunch break (about 3 hours from now) to hang the thread on.

    Reply

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