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The Novellas of John O'Hara
John O'Hara's novellas and his long short stories represent much of his best work. They are marked by the meticulous attention to detail and veracious dialogue that are habitual to O'Hara. His style of fiction, which often follows one individual or relationship through an unpredictable and unstable course, is frequently better served by the shorter form.
The ten stories presented here were written in the sixties, the last decade of O'Hara's life, when he was as prolific as ever and concerned to record as much of what he had seen in his lifetime as possible. They are set during his adulthood and in the places that he knew, lived in, and always wrote about: Gibbsville (the fictionalized Pottsville, where he had grown up), Philadelphia, New York, and Hollywood. The characters are also familiar: O'Hara's alter ego, the writer Jim Malloy, the mismatched couples and disappointed lovers, the rising and fading stars of Hollywood, the socially aspiring, and the criminal fringe of the Prohibition era.
As O'Hara's biographer Frank MacShane notes, the stories are "still extraordinarily alive." O'Hara effortlessly crafts stories that are propelled by his beautifully observed dialogue and studded with his placement of people by what they drink and the way they drink it, their cars, and their clothes. The life in the stories is in this detail, and in the universal applicability that his themes have for the late
twentieth century.
The ten stories presented here were written in the sixties, the last decade of O'Hara's life, when he was as prolific as ever and concerned to record as much of what he had seen in his lifetime as possible. They are set during his adulthood and in the places that he knew, lived in, and always wrote about: Gibbsville (the fictionalized Pottsville, where he had grown up), Philadelphia, New York, and Hollywood. The characters are also familiar: O'Hara's alter ego, the writer Jim Malloy, the mismatched couples and disappointed lovers, the rising and fading stars of Hollywood, the socially aspiring, and the criminal fringe of the Prohibition era.
As O'Hara's biographer Frank MacShane notes, the stories are "still extraordinarily alive." O'Hara effortlessly crafts stories that are propelled by his beautifully observed dialogue and studded with his placement of people by what they drink and the way they drink it, their cars, and their clothes. The life in the stories is in this detail, and in the universal applicability that his themes have for the late
twentieth century.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
736 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1968
About the author
John O'Hara
229 books301 followersAmerican writer John Henry O'Hara contributed short stories to the New Yorker and wrote novels, such as
BUtterfield 8
(1935) and
Ten North Frederick
(1955).
Best-selling works of John Henry O'Hara include Appointment in Samarra . People particularly knew him for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue. O'Hara, a keen observer of social status and class differences, wrote frequently about the socially ambitious.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O&#...
Best-selling works of John Henry O'Hara include Appointment in Samarra . People particularly knew him for an uncannily accurate ear for dialogue. O'Hara, a keen observer of social status and class differences, wrote frequently about the socially ambitious.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O&#...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 16, 2015
This is an excellent collection of novellas, written by John O'Hara, who is one of the great masters of dialog-driven plotting (to some degree, I view O'Hara as the mid-20th century Henry James, if that makes any sense). Like O'Hara's novels and short stories, this collection really puts the reader front and center with the period between the early-1920s and the late-1950s in eastern Pennsylvania, New York City and Hollywood. These are the tales of men and women and their relationships, and they are pretty darned good character portraits. I particularly enjoyed "Imagine Kissing Pete," the fabulous "Andrea," Hollywood's "Natica Jackson," "The Skeletons," and the poignant final novella, "A Few Trips and Some Poetry."
If you like O'Hara, and are a completist, this is a must read from his oeuvre. This collection of O'Hara's novellas get 4.5 stars of 5 from me.
If you like O'Hara, and are a completist, this is a must read from his oeuvre. This collection of O'Hara's novellas get 4.5 stars of 5 from me.
May 25, 2023
Occasionally I run across a book by an author considered a standout in a past generation. This book is a great example. One of the challenges of reading an author from decades ago is to follow the idioms and slang they use. Such is the case with O'Hara's novellas. Sometimes working your way through them can be a bit of a slog. But, the stories themselves are strong and well-plotted. They are somewhat reminiscent of the work of James Salter. Many of the stories focus on that part of the lives of his characters that they do not reveal to the public. Overall, the book was a good read if you are prepared to work through some archaic prose.
March 25, 2011
I read only one ("Andrea") in an anthology of short novels. Banged it out on a plane/bus ride, since it's short.
The characters were mostly well-sketched and the story line was interesting if hardly original, but the entire meat of the novel(la) is contained in the last paragraph, which is a bit of a stomach punch. Knowing how it ends makes me want to consider rereading it just to see if the ending actually works and whether it's making a coherent point.
It certainly makes me reconsider my views of the characters (especially the male protagonist), and who (if anyone) is particularly blameless or at fault. It's tempting to chalk it all up to the characters being bad people, but that's not really the sense I got reading the first 99% of the story--it's only the end that gives that impression.
Ultimately difficult and a little interesting, but hard to see if it's anything more than that. It's really a short story with a little more depth, or maybe a one act play (seems very Harold Pinter). Don't want to say it's bad, but certainly nothing great.
The characters were mostly well-sketched and the story line was interesting if hardly original, but the entire meat of the novel(la) is contained in the last paragraph, which is a bit of a stomach punch. Knowing how it ends makes me want to consider rereading it just to see if the ending actually works and whether it's making a coherent point.
It certainly makes me reconsider my views of the characters (especially the male protagonist), and who (if anyone) is particularly blameless or at fault. It's tempting to chalk it all up to the characters being bad people, but that's not really the sense I got reading the first 99% of the story--it's only the end that gives that impression.
Ultimately difficult and a little interesting, but hard to see if it's anything more than that. It's really a short story with a little more depth, or maybe a one act play (seems very Harold Pinter). Don't want to say it's bad, but certainly nothing great.
April 10, 2011
The story I read was "Andrea," only one of several in this book. John O’Hara (JO) was one of the most popular novelists of the mid-20th century, and this very short novel is a good example of why. It is the story of Phil and Andrea, and their 20-year love affair, which went on sporadically, even though Andrea had two marriages and two divorces during this time. JO manages to give you a whole lot of insight into the two characters and their relationship, even while not writing an overly long opus. Andrea seems to be an unusually attractive and intelligent girl. I wondered why she resisted Phil’s proposals of marriage, until her underlying depression becomes apparent through the final pages (and explosively in the last 2 sentences). Although it is an extremely short novel, I feel that it will haunt me for some time. I give it a 6 (out of 10), but would probably rate it higher if it were longer.
August 12, 2007
Four stars for "Andrea," which gave me the satisfying illusion of being in a slightly more hard-bitten but unusually tight Scott Fitzgerald story, until the title character pulled down her dress and asked to have her breasts kissed. ...At the age of sixteen.
I suppose the novella enjoyed being that crass (talk of statutory rape is also thrown around with more panache than regret), and edged the line of melodrama, but I would have read it in a sitting if I didn't start at about two in the morning.
I suppose the novella enjoyed being that crass (talk of statutory rape is also thrown around with more panache than regret), and edged the line of melodrama, but I would have read it in a sitting if I didn't start at about two in the morning.
July 7, 2011
What I actually read was a short novel called "Andrea" which was part of an anthology of short novels.
Want to Read
June 18, 2012Sheed, Wilfrid
Sixteen Short Novels
In compilation only.
Sixteen Short Novels
In compilation only.
August 10, 2012
Read "Andrea" only.
Want to Read
November 16, 2017Sermons & Soda-Water #10 1960
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews