Book Review: "My Oedipus Complex and Other Stories" by Frank O'Connor

I'm going to admit it: I've never read any Frank O'Connor before and I'm not really sure what to think of him. I was kind of avoiding it because of the title - not sure I wanted to read more of this stuff after having recently encountered The Holy Sinner by Thomas Mann. Anyways, at least this book was remotely funny which is more than could be said for the Thomas Mann text I read. I wasn't really looking for a short story anthology and to be honest, I'm biding my time until Tim Curry's autobiography comes out. I'm writing this on the 9th of October 2025 and so, there's not long to wait now. Oh fine, back to Frank O'Connor.

The title story is narrated by young Larry, a curious and precocious boy who adores his mother and resents the return of his father from World War I. It is probably the most predictable of all the family dynamics, but if you read about Frank O'Connor, he did in fact resent his father to a degree, but he also doted on his mother whom he was shocked to learn lived for years in pain before her death because she couldn't afford to go to the doctor's office. Used to having his mother’s undivided attention, Larry views his father as an intruder who monopolises her affection. His childish jealousy and juvenile attempts to reclaim her love mirror Freud’s “Oedipus complex."

I have to say though that where others may treat this subject with seriousness and tragedy, Frank O'Connor treats it with humour, satire and strange efforts in making the reader feel like the child is relatable. As Larry’s father reclaims his place in the household, conflict ensues until the birth of Larry’s baby brother shifts the family dynamic once again, forcing the boy to confront the realities of sharing love and attention. Honestly, it just seems like Larry can't catch a break but, he is also depicted as somewhat selfish. It's quite a clever and light-hearted story for the topics it deals with.

First Confession follows a young boy, Jackie, who dreads his first Catholic confession. Terrified of hell and confused by sin, Jackie’s imagination runs wild as he prepares to reveal his misdeeds to a priest. I'm not going to lie, this sort of mirrors the exact same thing I saw of other children whilst I was growing up - especially those who were scared straight by religion because of their parents. It should be frowned upon to psychological scar a child like that. Again though, the author handles it with sleek moments of satire, looking at the place of religion in the modern world and how it is perhaps, a bit of a ill-fitting philosophy for a progressive society. But then again, we get a comment on the honesty of children in which we see O'Connor give light to the way in which this young boy doesn't want to tell a lie and his nature is so fixated on truth that he becomes scared of what happens if he leaves something out even by accident. To be honest, the story itself was a lot more heartwarming than I thought it was going to be.

Man of the House is another story in the anthology. It is about a boy named Sonny who must take care of his ill mother. His sense of responsibility fills him with pride, but the reality of adulthood proves overwhelming. The author delicately shows how the boy’s self-importance and anxiety coexist, creating a portrait of tender, unintentional heroism. He desperately wants to care for his mother, but he is forced to grow up almost overnight and his sense of inadequacy often overwhelms his character. When his mother recovers, there are these moments of great pride for him, but also those of great relief. This story is perhaps the most cathartic in the whole anthology and again, is heartwarming in ways I didn't think were going to be shown.

All in all, I quite enjoyed this anthology - there were a lot of stories I didn't expect to read and though Frank O'Connor isn't really known for these stories in particular, I would still say it's an important anthology. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to researching Tim Curry's autobiography because I'm just so excited!