Like Waiting for Godot?
If there is any literary merit to The Adventures of Beer Man, it came from my close study of Flannery O'Connor's Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose. It's a great book for the fiction writer. I would lend you my copy, but it's scarcely legible, what with all the underlinings and notes in the margins. If you want to read a sketch of the book, go here. The writer has done a nice job of distilling the essence, even if the article is wrapped in the worn-out call for a revival of the Catholic literary tradition.
Don't get me wrong: I would love to see a Catholic literary revival, but the thing is, people have been pining for one since Flannery died. Walker Percy gave us a one-man revival for a short spell, but since his death in 1990, I've seen nothing that comes close to claiming all three legs of the necessary stool: A work that is (i) Catholic, with (ii) literary merit, and (iii) wide appeal. The Adventures of Beer Man comes close, except it doesn't have those last two (chuckle). I don't see another Waugh, Tolkien, O'Connor, or Percy on the horizon.
But then again, when writers hit, they often come out of nowhere, like lightning. It wouldn't surprise me if one crops up before the end of 2012, but by the same token, it's no good to pine. They'll show up. Or not. In the meantime, we can each tend our gardens blogs, essays, and reviews, making them the best we can.
