Mystery and Manners by Flannery O'Connor

This is a collection of essays, articles, and lectures by Flannery O'Connor (a novelist and short-story writer) about literature and about writing.

I bought it because I love O'Connor's stories and because, at the time, I was studying short-story writing and hoped to become a writer myself.

She can be quite harsh.In one piece in this book called "The Nature and Aim of Fiction," which was a lecture she gave to students, she said, "Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the universities stifle writers.My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them."

Ouch.

So this is not a book to read if you're having doubts about your abilities as a writer and craving encouragement.It is, however, an interesting book to read, especially for people who have read and been intrigued by O'Connor's fiction, because she provides a lot of insight here into her stories and novels.