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books:

1 review
John O'Hara

Random House, 1962

The Master of the Short Story Strikes Again
"The Cape Cod Lighter" is a collection of short stories from the prolific John O'Hara. To put things simply, if you enjoy his other short stories, you will likely enjoy this group as well. As usual, the stories offer brilliant character sketches and brief glimpses into the lives of twentieth century Pennsylvanians. This book is a treat because most of its stories do not appear in the larger, more ...

The Road Not Taken: A Selection of Robert Frost's Poems

4 reviews
Robert Frost, Louis Untermeyer, 2008

The Road Not Taken�Untermeyer's Invitation
It could be said that art, including poetry, should never be taught, only presented. A sure death knell to reader endeavor is having an artist's work forced on reluctant subjects at very young ages. Frost's universal appeal and critical success made him a favorite of the pedantic, institutional teaching of the 50's and 60's. His late-life ties to Kennedy?s Camelot made the situation worse, as ...

Butterfield Eight

2 reviews
John O'Hara

Buccaneer Books, 1991

Did she fall? Did she jump? Was she pushed?
I'm not telling you the answer, but I will tell you that the movie is wrong. ;-) "BUtterfield 8" is one of John O'Hara's most famous novels, and its fame is well-deserved. Gloria Wandrous, the novel's ill-fated heroine, is a testament to O'Hara's ability to create characters. She inspires pity, annoyance, admiration, and just about every other emotion you can imagine. "BUtterfield 8" reads ...

Rarely Pure and Never Simple

2 reviews
John Hay Library, Scott O'Hara

Routledge, 1998

The Last Words of Scott O'Hara
And witty, wise and wonderful words they are too. This has to be the most overlooked gay nonfiction title of the year. The cover and title aren't as titillating as the first volume of his memoirs, "Autopornography," but the writing's better. Scott shares with us the story behind STEAM magzine, the messy messy inside dirt on "Making Porn" (the play and movie inspired by his own porn star ...

Lockwood Concern

2 reviews
John O'Hara

Random House, 1965

"On Sunday afternoons people would drive out to have a look
at George Lockwood's wall . . . ." So begins my favorite work of John O'Hara (except perhaps for the "Sermons and Soda Water" trilogy, but that's another review). "The Lockwood Concern" follows the lives of four generations of Lockwoods as they gain social status. The characters are brilliantly drawn and unforgettable, particularly Abraham, the second Lockwood in the line and the one who names ...

Ten North Frederick

2 reviews
John O'Hara

Random House, 1955

How could this be out of print?
As I read more and more O'Hara it is beginning to dawn on me that he is one of the pre-eminent American writers of the 20th Century. This book, in particular, looks at so many big themes across so many characters and storylines that it should be listed with the best novels of the century. Works by his better-known contemporary (but hardly peer) Fitzgerald are puny next to this writer's best stuff.

My Friend Flicka

29 reviews
Mary O'Hara

Buccaneer Books, 1973

Surprise! A clinical description
I am in the middle of lstening to this book. Its detailed descriptions of ranch life and horses are quite compelling. But what surprised me was the absolutely accurate description of a boy with ADD. This book was written some two decades before attention deficit disorder gained anyone's attention, but O'Hara's descriptions of Ken's behavior are absolutely consistent. And then O'Hara answers ...

Elvis and You: Your Guide to the Pleasures of Being an Elvis Fan

11 reviews
Laura Levin, John O'Hara

Perigee Trade, 2000

ElvisNews Review
Probably because the book is this massive it is printed on very thin paper. Especially because this guide will function as a reference book often, this is a pity. We bet there will be only a few in perfect condition after a couple of weeks. Also a lot of the pictures used in the book deserve more than the exposure they get now, also due to the poor paper-quality. On the other hand: this work on ...

Collected Stories of John O'Hara: Selected and With an Introduction by Frank MacShane

1 review
John O'Hara

Random House, 1985

bibliographic data provided by earthtomes:
Author: O'Hara, John, 1905-1970. Title: Stories by John O'Hara / selected and with an introduction by Frank MacShane. Edition: 1st ed. Publisher: New York : Random House, c1984. Edition Date: 1985 Language: English Projected Pub Date: 8501 Physical Details: xii, 414 p. ; 24 cm. Other Authors: MacShane, Frank. ISBN: 0-394-54083-2 /

And Other Stories

1 review
John O'Hara

Bantam Books, 1970

Recommended!
Moving, and so beautiful. O'Hara manages to produce moving stories that are somehow never hackneyed-- a feat few writers can manage. The story "A Few Trips and Some Poetry" particularly stands out.

Hope of Heaven

1 review
John O'Hara

Carroll & Graf Pub, 1985

Unrelentingly negative - a gem.
A charming little doomed romance from the 1930's, John O'hara's prime. A world weary screen-writer of only limited success in his mid-thirties is in love with an idealistic young woman in her twenties who is only passingly interested in him. When her long estranged father comes to LA on business, tragedy ensues. Unrelentingly negative - a gem. Whenever I feel melancholy, I just read it and ...

My Friend Flicka

1 review
O Hara

J. B. Lippincott Company, 1941

Which is the original?
I saw the movie "Flicka", and I really want to read the original book. Unfortunatly the movie doesn't tell what is the original book, and who wrote it. I just want to read the original, but no one will give credit to the original author, and book. Does anyone know who originaly wrote this book, and/or what the original book is?! Thanks for your help!!

A Family Party

1 review
John O'Hara

Random House, 1956

Amazingly true to life
This charming short story is the "stenographic report" of a banquet speech for a small-town doctor in honor of his forty years of service to the community. In this informal address his best friend tells the story of the doctor's life. The text is amazingly true to life, it is as it were "the mother of all improvised banquet speeches" given on such occasions. Unlike his "Great Short Stories", this ...

Sermons & Soda Water

1 review
John O'Hara

Random House, 1960

John O'Hara produces some of his best with the novella
Sermons and Soda Water consists of 3 novellas which involve the same person -- James Mallory. Mallory is thought to be the alter ego of O'Hara. The first story "The Girl on the Baggage Truck" is a story of the younger Mallory barely avoiding being pulled down by involvement with an aspiring actress. The second, my favorite, "Imagine Kissing Pete" is the story of a bad marriage which goes ...

The Novellas of John O'Hara (Modern Library)

1 review
John O'Hara

Modern Library, 1995

A Forgotten Master At His Best
John O'Hara, once an equal to Hemingway or Fitzgerald in the realm of the modern short story, shows us once again why he was so popular--and so praised--for forty years. These stories seem to encompass everything middle America became after the 1970s, about the time of O'Hara's death. O'Hara has a simple writing style that nonetheless captures the complexities in human relations, to say nothing ...

Hellbox

1 review
John O'Hara

Random House, 1947

John O'Hara helped create the "New Yorker short story"
Hellbox is a collection of 26 short stories. John O'Hara defined the twentieth century short story. This is one of his best collections consisting of stories for the most part published in The New Yorker from 1945 to 1947. He gives a glimpse and a memory into middle class white life, the things people thought about, the things they fretted and aimed for. It's the small detail at times that ...

The Farmers Hotel

1 review
John O'Hara

Bantam, 1957

A top novella of humor, tragedy, and life
This is the John O'Hara story that you should read first if you've never before had the opportunity to savour the works of this brilliant American novelist. This one is really of novella length, a page-turner that you can breeze though in one evening. Here, A enterprising man re-opens an old hotel in a rural hamlet. His first guests are abruptly compelled to stop in, mostly as a result of bad ...

Appointment in Samarra

51 reviews
John O'Hara

Signet, 1961

Loved it.
I liked this book better than "The Great Gatsby", which is supposed to be the greatest novel of this period. The character development was done with such ease. The language flowed. The story unfolded with simplicity and surprise after surprise. I got a feeling for this time period.

The Farmers Hotel

1 review
John O'Hara

Random House, 1951

Pure O'Hara, all the way.
If you were planning to launch into the writings of John O'Hara, this would be a fine place to either start or to finish. I have read all his works, catching this one last, and it came as a pleasant surprise. It has it all: abrupt death, sexual tension, hometown snobbery.... everything that makes O'Hara so great. This book can be read in one night if you typically eat supper early and stay up a ...

Thunderhead

1 review
Mary O'Hara

Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2005

Flicka's colt
I reread "Thunderhead" after a hiatus of forty years, and was surprised that I enjoyed it even more as an adult. I had to wonder how I made it through the parts about Rob and Nell's financial difficulties and rocky marriage when I was a teen-ager, but I know I read them because I can still remember details and characters after all these years. The first book of the trilogy, "My Friend Flicka" ...

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