The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor

[George]

Please comment here of 'The Edge of Sadness' by Edwin O'Connor, 1962 Pulitzer Prize winner.

[Irene]

I started this last night. It is very readable. I can picture everything. The characters are well developed. I think I am going to enjoy this one.

[George]

Yes, I am enjoying reading this novel. It is a slow paced, gentle, sometimes humorous, character based read. Father Hugh Kennedy’s ordinary, day to day life is described with sympathy and compassion. The characters in his life are memorable. Old Charlie Carmody’s sudden interest in Father Kennedy is intriguing.

I am over half way through this longish book. Picking it up to read is always a pleasure.

[Irene]

You are ahead of me. I am slightly beyond the 1/3 point. I found the description of Hugh's time in rehab and his portrayal of the other priest in total denial of his alcoholism to have so much compassion and insight.

[Irene]

I finished. I loved this book. The author treated the characters with such compassion and understanding, but without any sentimentality. I could identify with the narrator in so many ways. I think one should be in mid-life when one reads this book.

[George]

I too have finished reading this novel. An enjoyable, satisfying read where not a lot happens, though there are a couple of plot surprises. I certainly gained a better understanding about the life of a priest in the 1950s. We learn about three men, Father Hugh Kennedy, old 81 year old Charles Carmody, a well off, disliked, miserly property owner, and Charles's son, Father John Carmody, a successful son, rector of Boston's popular, fashionable Catholic parish.

Minor characters are the young, positive, enthusiastic Father Danowski, Helen, sister of John Carmody, who is married to a doctor and has children. Also two men who of a similar age to Charles, Bucky and P.J. Bucky and P.J. have known Charles since they were children.

The first half of the novel had some humorous moments.

This book is very much Hugh's story. Through some interesting dialogues and reflections of his past, Hugh gains a better understanding himself.

I agree that readers with some life experience should appreciate this book more.

[Irene]

For me, this book was all about the journey through middle life. Fr. Hugh enters the novel with regrets and apathetic about his present situation. He knows that his time in rehab was a gift, but he also knows that life has not turned out the way he expected. So, he has largely disconnected with things, just going through the motions of his daily duties. By the end, he has come to accept his situation. When given the opportunity for the parish he had wanted, the one that he had expected, he turns it down. He realizes that where he is in life is good in its own right. He won't revive this parish, but he will serve its people with commitment. He won't have the life he expected, but he will have a valuable life. And, so he goes into the second half of life, no longer fixated on dying, but able to live and serve.

[Mary]

I enjoyed reading your comments — will read this book next.