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The Stories of J.F. Powers (New York Review Books Classics), by J. F. Powers

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Review

"Powers is a genuine original. Read him…for the pleasures he bestows of ear and eye, but read him too for the supreme trustworthiness of his vision, a trust earned by impeccable craft, and by a balance perfectly struck between a cutting irony and a beleaguered faith." — Mary Gordon"In these stories, there is a lovely, travelling hesitancy, an obliquity, so that they seem to creep up on the reader….The strongest of them are surely among the finest written by an American." — James Wood, The New Yorker"To read the first story (“The Lord’s Day”) in this collection is to put down the book with the sense of having read as great a short story as any ever written, and I mean by anybody: by Cheever, Sherwood Anderson, Checkov. What ease they have is in the style: there are no easy morals here, no edifying lessons, but their vigor and correctness make them delightful to read. And while they’re terribly funny — laugh—out—loud funny, in spots — they’re also complex and deeply serious." — Donna Tartt, Harper’s"Power’s particular blend of trenchancy and bleak wit….Powers’ short pieces remain more effective than his novels. His was a gift of understatement and speed, and at his best his narrative economy is breathtaking….It is a pleasure to see [them] reissued…in a single volume. For a collection that spans three decades, The Stories of J.F. Powers isn’t especially long, but the work is striking, impelled by a vision that has been cleansed by deep intelligence and powerful subject matter." — Erin McGraw, The Georgia Review

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About the Author

J. F. Powers (1917-1999) was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, and studied at Northwestern University while holding a variety of jobs in Chicago and working on his writing. He published his first stories in The Catholic Worker and, as a pacifist, spent thirteen months in prison during World War II. Powers was the author of three collections of short stories and two novels—Morte D’Urban, which won the National Book Award, andWheat That Springeth Green—all of which have been reissued by New York Review Books. He lived in Ireland and the United States and taught for many years at St John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.Denis Donoghue is University Professor at NYU, where he holds the Henry James Chair of English and American Letters. He is the author of The Practice of Reading, Words Alone: The Poet T.S. Eliot, and, most recently, The American Classics. (October 2006)

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Product details

Series: New York Review Books Classics

Paperback: 592 pages

Publisher: NYRB Classics; Main edition (March 31, 2000)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9780940322226

ISBN-13: 978-0940322226

ASIN: 0940322226

Product Dimensions:

5 x 1.4 x 8 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.2 out of 5 stars

16 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#593,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

THE STORIES OF J.F. POWERS is a book to treasure. Powers died in 1999, but his reputation as perhaps the greatest comic chronicler of the 1950s Catholic Church endures. He published only five books in a career that spanned over five decades. Three of them were slim collections of short stories,all of which are included in this handsome volume. The other two were novels. The first, MORTE D'URBAN, a book I have read and reread at least four times, each time with much chuckling and great enjoyment, won the National Book Award in 1962. The second, WHEAT THAT SPRINGETH GREEN (1988), I read just a few years ago. Again,much chuckling, a pure pleasure to read.Because he was a perfectionist, Powers worked slowly. His resulting stories were, to my mind, perfect. His subject? The Catholic Church, its clergy and religious, and its faithful members in the mid-twentieth century Midwest. In these stories his priests, nuns and parishioners are presented in thoroughly human terms, warts and all. Catholics from that era cannot help but relate. They will smirk, smile, chuckle, guffaw. The humor sneaks up on you, surprises you into laughter.I can remember, as a child, seeing Powers' first book, PRINCE OF DARKNESS AND OTHER STORIES (1947), a slim paperback in a rack of religious books and pamphlets in the back of our church. My mother, always an avid reader, must have bought it, because I discovered it in our home bookcase my senior year of high school. One story and I was hooked. I probably didn't realize it then, but I had discovered buried treasure.I am so pleased that NYRB has made all of Powers' stories finally available in a single volume. I had read his final collection, HOW THE FISHES LIVE (1975), but not the middle one. THE PRESENCE OF GRACE (1956). Now I have, and I will continue sampling these stories for a long time. It's the kind of book you can open anywhere, to any story. Every one is perfect, complete, a finely polished gem. My highest recommendation.- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER

For this review I concentrate on J. F. Power’s priestly stories which comprise two thirds or so of the book’s contents. The tribulations of the Roman Catholic priesthood is a major concern of fiction.Powers was admired by his literary peers for his proficiency in the short story. One of his two novels won a National Book Award, but he is generally considered a short fiction master who occasionally turned out a novel than vice versa.In the major elements of fiction writing he is adept. He gives his characters a presence; he renders settings with clarity and impact; and bestows on the milieu his tales takes place in, a strong sense of authenticity. He has been called a writer’s writer, a praise that signifies a close study of his works helps one learn the craft of story writing.An overview of the priestly stories suggest to me Powers is a pessimist about the efficacy of the vocation at the parish level. He is not the first Roman Catholic to reprove his/her church. Joyce comes to mind in that regard. Only Powers’ imparts an aura not so much of distaste but of regret. Here are men of the cloth who want to fulfill the broader duties of compassion and succor to the laity but find themselves mired in intra politics and convention. The incidents of conflict are small in scale but large in implication. Story after story of petty intrigue and contention add up to a bleak regard of priesthood functioning at a parochial level. Despite the amount of detail pertinent to the nitty-gritty of parish activity, the stories emanate I get an impression of corporate politics in priestly garb. Yet the author’s tone isn’t scathing; more a brooding contemplation such as suggested by the painting of Jesus pondering Jerusalem from a hill side. Powers, like any pessimist, is a disappointed idealist.I think the collection is rather uneven because “Moonshot” is formatted as a one act play, and “Folks” in the form of a short letter between a preface and an after word is puzzling as to how a reader is to take it.A brief comment on the author. Powers never wore a priest’s cloth, though he did attend Catholic seminary and worked in a Catholic associated university. He included several priests among his best friends. From comments by those who knew him I gather he wasn’t a constant writer in the sense of Trollope with his one thousand words a day timed to two hundred and fifty words every quarter hour. Rather Powers was a fitful writer whose stints at composition occurred between intervals of sundry activities. One started on a story though he was dogged in its completion. He revised copiously until, as his daughter put it, the pile of pages had the density of a plank. Between stories he wrote miles of letters. His daughter Katherine has compiled them in a book the title of which– Suitable Accommodations – comes from a favorite expression of her father who was rather nomadic in his choice of residences.. Her preface provides considerable background on a well loved father. From it I drew the above remarks.

Beforehand I'd just like to say that I am a priest and that this review is written from that perspective.These stories focus of priestly life of the mid-twentieth century. They include many details and insights into certain realities of what priests do. In particular, the in which he is able to express the interpersonal interactions between priests is very interesting. He has hit the nail on the head in many ways, one example being the awkward interactions between the Bishop and a priest in the story "Zeal." The Bishop finds that he just can't get away from Fr. Early fast enough and yet he then goes looking for him. He's uncomfortable around him, yet he misses him when he's gone.Also, in "A Losing Game," Powers has put into words what many priests have felt when looking for things for their rooms. In this story, the pastor of the parish keeps everything (i.e., tables, chairs, and other furniture) hidden away, so that no one can use it. The way in which the junior priest finally manages to get the easy chair he wants really does communicate the odd style of passive communication that so many priests use amongst each other for various reasons.Powers overall does an excellent job in showing certain aspects of priestly life of which people are often unaware. I recommend these short stories to anyone who wants to understand priestly culture better. In particular, I think that many priests will find these stories quite amusing and relatable.

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