Newspaper Page Text
MARCH 3, 1956.
THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
FIFTEEN
BOOK REVIEWS
EDITED BY EILEEN HALL
3087 Old Jonesboro Hoad, Hapeville, Georgia
Each issue of this Bosk Page
is confided to the patronage of
Mary. Mediatrix of All Graces,
with the hope that every read
er and every contributor may
be specially favored by her
and her Divine Son.
COD AND HIS CREATION,
Edited by A. M. Henry, O. P.,
(Fides), S6.50.
(Reviewed by Margaret G.
Smith)
This is Volume. II of a six-
volume Theology Library
written by a group of theologi
ans and edited by Father Hen
ry. This volume was translated
by the Rev. Charles Miltner,
C.S.C., of the University of Port
land. The entire library transla
tion is under the direction of the
Rev. Louis. J. Putz, C. S. C. of
the University oi Notre Dame,
president of Fides Publishers.
As the title, suggests, this vol
ume is concerned with the crea
tion of the world and all that it
contains. This reader found those
chapters devoted to “The The
ology of Man” and “The Divine
Government” of particular in
terest.
Actually, this is a text book
for use by seminarians or religi
ous who are teaching or plan
ning to be in the teaching field.
The contents are readable and
fairly understandable for the
layman and could be of great
value toward a better under
standing of the Bible and Cath
olic dogma. The book could be
of value also to study or inquir
ers groups.
However, this reviewer sees
the book as a text book for stu
dents of theology primarily, and
one that the layman should read
or study only under the super
vision of a spiritual director.
HEIRS OF HEAVEN, a book of
cartoons, by Joe Lane, (Michael
Book Company,) $1.00.
Who can resist the charm and
fun of the “Two Little Nuns?” Joe
Lane gives us anothe.r delightful
cartoon book in “Heirs of Heav
en.” The situations and antics of
the nuns, priests and laity in these
seventy new cartoons are hilari
ous. Perfect gift for anyone to
enjoy and share;
—Louella Caye.
ALL MANNER OF MEN, edited
by Riley Hughes, (Kenedy), $3.50.
.(Reviewed by Flannery O’Con
nor, author of “A Good Man Is
Hard to Find”). .
There are 25 stories in this col
lection, all taken from the Cath
olic Press. Of this number, per
haps five are excellent by th|
standards of the best fiction. The
rest are variously limited in range
and depth and generally suggest
that they were written in the
Catholic college classroom.
Against that background they are
promising stories; in the Catholic
Press one might wish for better.
> In most of the stories, the
meaning is not well carried by
the characterization; a good deal
of piety is portrayed but not al
ways at a depth that Would make
it acceptable in serious fiction;
sin is conspicuous by its absence.
Those who do not like to be dis
turbed by Catholic fiction will be
glad to learn that there is noth
ing in this collection to suggest
that the writers represented have
been influenced by the work of
Mauriac, Greene or J. F. Powers.
As , a whole, the collection says
more about the taste of readers
of Catholic magazines than about
Catholic writers in this country,
'or there are Catholic writers still
at large who have not been pub
lished in the Catholic Press.
It is cheering, however, that
none of the stories is tritely com
mercial and that a great many
represent beginning talent which
has great possibilities for devel
opment. One feels that the editor.
Riley Hughes, having little to
choose from, has chosen wisely.
In his introduction, he makes the
excellent suggestion that Cath
olic fiction would prosper if there
were a dozen magazines of the
“little magazine” scope and qual
ity, edited on Catholic college
campuses or elsewhere. These
would be magazines where a high
quality of writing would be in
sisted upon and where it would
be understood that to make the
effects of the Redemption believ
able in fiction, the writer needs
to set them in a wide range of
experience and to feel them at a
depth which will often seem dan
gerous to the peace of popular
taste.
A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO
FIND, by Flannery O’Connor,
(Harcourt, Brace), $3.50.
(Reviewed by Sylvia Zsuffa).
Flannery O’Connor, a young
Milledgeville, Georgia, novelist
and short story writer, has pro
duced in the ten short stories
which make up this book some
of the finest fiction to come from
the hand of an American writer.
What is the fiction writer con
cerned with? Man’s relationship
to man; man’s relationship to na
ture; man’s relationship to God.
It is with the last category that
Miss O’Connor is most concerned,
along with the English writers,
Graham Greenh, Evelyn Waugh
and American J. F. Powers. They
are an elect company. No subject
is more important; none more dif
ficult to translate into fiction.
In translating her subject, Miss
O’Connor writes the realistic, in
many instances shocking, Story of
seamy people from the seamy side
of life. Her story country is rural
Georgia. Her ear is faultless in re
producing the dialect of the area,
whether it be poor white, Negro,
or white trash. She knows inti
mately the psychology of each, so
that her characterizations, wheth
er it be the pathological killer in
the title story, the small boy in
“The River,” whose unasked bap
tism leads to the only peace he
has ever known in his short neg
lected life, or the girl with the
wooden leg who seduces a Bible
salesman, are always completely
believable.
Her creation of the visible
scene, particularly her use of
imagery—“the old lady was rav
enous for a son-in-law,” or the
Irish priest’s delight in a peacock,
“a tail full of suns”—strikes the
high-water mark of literary style.
"Story of Maimed Souls"
But it is what Miss O’Connor
has to say which .puts her head
and shoulders over many fiction-
eers writing today in this coun
try. “Good Country People,”
which Allen Tate has called “the
most powerful story of maimed
souls by a contemporary writer,”
has perhaps caused the most com
ment. It is a shocking story. Hul-
ga, the 30-year-old daughter of a
widowed mother, has a PHD in
philosophy. She also has a wood
en leg, which is bad enough. But
Hulga’s real tragedy is her Wood
en soul.
An apparently simple country
boy arrives at the house to sell
Hulga’s mother a Bible. In a pow
erfully written scene, made per
fectly credible by an uncanny in
sight into the human mind, Miss
O’Connor writes of seduction. She
weaves through the maze of dis
torted physical emotion, intellec
tual pride and something akin to
pity in the reactions of this
strange, maimed creature, as easi
ly as you or I would walk down
a street.
The boy is then revealed in his
true colors, with a character as
evil as Hulga’s own. He steals
thq wooden leg, shatters Hulga’s
pride with one crushing remark,
and leaves her bereft of physical
and mental support. Never hav
ing known spiritual, Hulga reach
es the nadir of human tragedy.
This shocking story is as power
ful a commentary on the mystery
of sin as this reviewer has ever
read. Quixotically, the theft of
Hulga’s pride will be her salva
tion; herein the mystery lies.
Besides sin and its consequen
ces, the author is fiercely concern
ed with personal sanctification,
the will of God, with charity, with
salvation. Why she chooses to pre
sent these realities in the persons
of the maimed and abnormal is
a question she must be often ask
ed, because—no doubt about it!—
her ‘stories are uncomfortable
reading. Maybe she uses the me
dium she does because spiritual
realities are particularly graphic
so presented. Whatever her reas
on, people take notice. This is
justification enough in her case.
There is no room to comment
on “The Artificial Nigger,” a per
fectly constructed and beautiful
story, or on the humor of “A Late
Encounter with the Enemy.” Miss
O’Connor does not always dip her
pen in acid. But she does dip it
into the well of uncompromising
truth, leaving the human soul
naked as it will be at the Judg
ment, face to face with God.
BOOKS RECEIVED
IN HIM WE LIVE, by Albert
P. McGrann, O. M. I., (Bruce),
$3.45.
A SHEPHERD WITHOUT
SHEEP, by E. Boyd Barrett.
(Bruce), $2.75.
INDULGENCES, by Winfrid
Herbst, S. D. S., (Bruce), paper
$1.50.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS,
by Cecily Hastings, ' (Sheed &
Ward), $3.00.
THE TAILS BOOK, by Graham
Carey, (Sheed & Ward), $2.50.
YOUR WAY, by Alpyne, trans
lated from the French by a Sister
of Notre Dame de Namur, (Bruce),
paper $1.00.
THE HOURS OF THE PAS
SION, by Jude Mead, C. P.,
(Bruce), $2.85. '
Irish Singers
To Appear At
Milledgeville
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — The
Milledgeville Community Concert
Association will present the Irish
Festival Singers in Russell Audi
torium on March 20 at 8:30 p. m.
This will be the last of four con
certs, presented annually by the
association. Richard Cass, Theo
dore Uppmann, and Robert Rudie
have already presented concerts
this season.
Local attendance at the concert
is limited to members of the As-,
sociation and students of Georgia
State College for Women. All per
sons holding Community Concert
Association memberships in other
cities are invited also to attend.
Local members may invite out-
of-town guests and obtain visitors’
tickets at the door.
The Milledgeville Community
Concert Association president is
the Rev. John D. Toomey, pastor
of Sacred Heart Church.
To work wonders a man must
learn to labor while he waits.
MARRIAGES
o— o
| KELLY-McCARTHY |
O O
ATLANTA, Ga. — Miss Mary
Lou McCarthy, daughter of the
late Mr. and Mrs. Walter L. Mc
Carthy of Atlanta, and Richard
A. Kelly, son of Mrs. Joseph G.
Kelly and the late Mr. Kelly of
Quincy, Mass., were married Feb.
14th at the Sacred Heart Church,
Rev. Edward Kelly, S. M., offici
ating.
O O
| GILBERT-BRENNAN [
O -r O
ATLANTA, Ga.—Miss Helen
Ginn Brennan, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Joseph B. Brennan and
William Edgar Gilbert, son of
Mr. and Mrs. John William B.
Gilbert, of Pasadena, Md., were
married Feb. 11th at the Cathe
dral of Christ the King, Msgr.
Joseph Cassidy officiating.
O - ■ - O
j BASHAM-DAVIES |
o o
DECATUR, Ga. — Miss Janet
Evelyn Davies of Decatur, and Joe
Ortega Basham, Jr., of Canutillo,
Texas, were married Feb. 11th at
St. Thomas More Church, Father
Thomas Sheehan officiating.
G O
j DUDLEY-TANT |
O O
COLUMBUS, Ga.—Miss Bar
bara Ann Tant, daughter of F. O.
Tant and the late Mrs. Tant of
Phenix City, and John A. Dudley,
Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. U. W.
Starnes of Opelika, Ala., were
married Feb. 11th at the Church
of the Holy Family, Rev. Father
John Cuddy officiating.
0 O
1 NEWTON-DOWDY I
COLUMBUS, Ga.—Miss Rosa
Lee Dowdy, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Robert Lee Dowdy, and Sgt.
Thomas Newton Culp, son of Mr.
and Mrs. Isaac Newton Culp of
Canton, Ohio, were married Feb,
12th at the Church of the Holy
Family, Rev. Father John Cuddy
officiating.
Services For
Francis Sutton
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Funeral
services for Francis Sutton were
held Feb. 14th at the Cathedral
of St. John the Baptist.
Survivors are two daughters,
Mrs. Zoller and Mrs. May Stein-
mann, Savannah; one stepson,
Comdr. John R. Roland, LaPorte,
Texas; two sisters, Miss Margaret
Sutton, Bristol, England, and Miss
Mary Sabinia Sutton, Bristol; five
grandchildren, 12 great grandchil
dren and five great great grand
children, several nieces and neph
ews.
Savannah Services
For Mrs. Walker
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Funeral
services for Mrs. Philomena G.
Walker were held Feb. 10th at
Church of the Most Blessed Sacra
ment.
Survivors are several nieces
and nephews.
ELBOW GREASE
Faith is a must in life—but do
not expect too much from the seed
catalogs alone.
Atlanta Life Insurance Co.
Hospitalization Policies
PHONE WA. 1499 229 AUBURN AVENUE
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
GEORGIA STATE COUNCIL
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
Very Rev. Daniel J. Bourke, State Chaplain, Albany, Ga.
Henry C. Taylor, Stale Deputy, Atlanta. Ga.
Joseph F. Kunze, Past State Deputy, Columbus, Ga.
George W. Hughey, State Secretary, Albany, Ga.
William O'Dowd, State Treasurer, Augusta, Ga.
R. H. Casson, State Advocate, Macon, Ga.
V. J. Ryan, State Warden, Savannah, Ga.
Ed. P. Daly. District Deputy, First District
James J. O'Shea, District Deputy, Second District
Patrick R. Mulherin, District Deputy, Third District
ATLANTA COUNCIL
NO. 660
LOUIS C. BAUGNON
Grand Knight
HENRY C. TAYLOR
Financial Secretary
Council Meeting 1st and 3rd
Wednesdays at 8 P. M. at the
Council House, 1200 Peachtree
Street, N. E.
Club House open every vvening
at the above address
PATRICK WALSH COUNCIL
677
FRANK C. HESLEN
Grand Knight
J. N. SCHWEERS, SR.
Financial Secretary
Meets 2nd and 4th Monday
Visiting Brothers Welcome
2575 Henry St., Augusta, Ga.
"MACON COUNCIL NO. 925
N. J. PASCULLIS
Grand Knight
ROBERT M. HOBSON
Financial Secretary
2986 Houston Ave.
Meets the First and Third
Tuesdays at 8:15 P. M.
541 New Street,
Macon, Ga.
SAVANNAH COUNCIL
NO. 631
Grand Knight
Joseph m. McDonough
Financial Secretary
3 Liberty Street West
Savannah, Ga.
BISHOP GROSS COUNCIL
NO. 1019
PHILIP J. BATASTINI
Grand Knight
JAMES J. O'SHEA
Financial Secretary
Meets 1st and 3rd Mondays
8 P. M., 802 Broadway
K. C. Hall
Columbus, Ga.
HENRY THOMAS ROSS
COUNCIL NO. 1939
R. J. CLANCEY,
Grand Knight
JOHN H. STILES,
Financial Secretary
Meets Fourth Tuesday at
Xavier Hall
Brunswick, Ga.
ALBANY COUNCIL NO. 3607
CLARENCE R. SHOEMAKER. Grand Knight
C. H. BELL, Financial Secretary
Council Meets Second and Fourth Monday at 8:30 P. M.
400 N. Jefferson Street