The Best of Frank O'Connor: Introduction by Julian Barnes [Hardcover]

The most generous one-volume collection ever published of short stories, autobiographical writings,poetry, and essays by the writer Yeats called “Ireland’s Chekhov.”

 

Selected and arranged thematically by Julian Barnes, the rich mix of writings inThe Best of Frank O’Connorstarts off with his most famous short story, “Guests of the Nation,” set during the Irish War of Independence; chronicles his childhood with an alcoholic father and protective mother; and traces his literary influences in brilliant essays on Joyce and Yeats. O’Connor’s wonderfully polyphonic tales of family, friendship, and rivalry are set beside those that bring to life forgotten souls on the fringes of society. O’Connor’s writings about Ireland vividly evoke the land he called home, while other stories probe the hardships and rewards of Irish emigration. Finally, we see O’Connor grappling, in both fiction and memoir, with the largest questions of religion and belief.

 

The Best of Frank O’Connoris a literary monument to a truly great writer.

Acknowledgment
Introduction
Select Bibliography
Chronology
About the Editor

1. WAR
Preface
Guests of the Nation
Attack
Jumbo’s Wife
September Dawn
Machine-Gun Corps in Action
Laughter
Soirée Chez une Belle Jeune Fille
FromAn Only Child — The Fight for Freedom
FromThe Big Fellow: Michael Collins and the Irish Revolution
FromMy Father’s Son — A Case of Hypnotism

2. CHILDHOOD
Preface
My Oedipus Complex
FromAn Only Child — Mother
The Genius
First Confession
FromWriting a Story — One Man’s Way
The Study of History
FromAn Only Child — A Love of Heights
The Man of the World
FromAn Only Child — The Bandsmen
The lC6