Flannery O’Connor: Friends Don’t Let Friends Read Ayn Rand

In a letter dated May 31, 1960 Flannery O’Connorthe author is best known for her classic story “A Good Man Is Hard Hored” (read her story here) and wrote a letter to her friend, the playwright Mary Lee. It starts quite abruptly, perhaps as Mary responds to what she said in her previous letter.

I hope you don’t have any friends to recommend Ayn Rand. Ayn Rand’s fiction is as low as you can get RE fiction. I hope they picked it up from the subway floor and threw it into the nearest garbage bag. She makes Mickey Spiran look like Dostoevsky.

Letters you can do Read online Or find it in the book Habits of existencethen rely on other issues.

An important assessment of O’Connor’s Ain Rand’s book is very simple. But here is one factoid worth knowing. Mickey Spiran (see O’Connor’s Letter) was a highly popular mystery writer who sold 225 million books in his lifetime. According to him Washington Post obit“His specialty was the close sadistic revenge story of sadistic revenge, which often featured his alcohol gum show microphone hammer and a cast of bad guys,” critics said in his book. He was appalled by violence and rejected his writing. But Ain Rand defended him. In public, she said Spiran was underrated. In her book Romantic ManifestoRand put Spiran into an unexpected company when she wrote.[Vic­tor] Hugo gives me the feeling of entering the cathedral – Dostoevsky gives me the feeling of entering a room of fear, but with a powerful guide – Spiran gives me the feeling of listening to a military band in the park – Tolstoy gives me a sense of unsanitary backyard that doesn’t bother me entering. ”

All of this indicates _____. Fill in the blank.

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