Pulitzer Prize Fiction Winner
The Edge of Sadness
by Edwin O'Connor
Summary
A middle aged Irish American priest, recovering from alcoholism after a stint at a treatment retreat, returns to a fading parish in a Northeastern city, where the entanglements of an old family of friends draw him back in. O'Connor narrates in a quiet, reflective first person that lingers on memory, vocation, and the ordinary weather of belief. The novel earns admiration for its unshowy realism about clerical life and middle class Catholic experience.
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Historical Context & Significance
O'Connor finally won after the board snubbed him in 1957. The book draws praise for its authentic portrayal of the ordinariness of the priesthood.