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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
A bracing antidote to the syrupy sweetness of The Education of Little Tree. These stories are beautiful but beware all mothers and sons--most of you will die, sometimes painfully for your sins.
This is the first Flannery O'Connor I've read other than random anthologized stories. She captures the language and cadences of the Deep South so perfectly. There is no judgment, just clear eyed portraits of people who are tragically stuck in a culture that no longer is relevant or defensible.
This is the first Flannery O'Connor I've read other than random anthologized stories. She captures the language and cadences of the Deep South so perfectly. There is no judgment, just clear eyed portraits of people who are tragically stuck in a culture that no longer is relevant or defensible.
challenging
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read about 3/4 of the stories, skipping the ones that were too racist and n-word using. Parker's Back and The Enduring Chill were my favorites. O'Connor doesn't present likable protagonists or simple scenarios, and I definitely didn't grow up Catholic. What writing of hers I appreciate I do so whole heartedly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry
Her dark rendering of blatant emotion makes me giggle every time. That's probably not the sanest reaction one can have to this master short story teller, but... there we are.
Holy shitsticks, I was not prepared for this.
This book, and almost every story in it, sucked me right back into my white trash childhood and then sat me down and made me look at it really hard.
I hated it. It hurt the whole time. I wanted to stop reading it. At the end of every story I was like, "Yeah, I'm going to stop here and call it done." But it kept pulling me back and shooting me in the heart just like the dang bird on the cover. Never had a cover illustration been more accurate.
This book, and almost every story in it, sucked me right back into my white trash childhood and then sat me down and made me look at it really hard.
I hated it. It hurt the whole time. I wanted to stop reading it. At the end of every story I was like, "Yeah, I'm going to stop here and call it done." But it kept pulling me back and shooting me in the heart just like the dang bird on the cover. Never had a cover illustration been more accurate.
I liked each individual story in this collection, but I'm not sure they work so well together. Thematically, they are too similar for my taste (the convergence of one generation with another). What were nice, rounded characters became flat due to their context and similarity to characters in adjacent stories.
Some really good writing about some really bad people.
Not sure I'd say this collection was necessarily enjoyable, but it did hold my attention because I wanted to know what happened in the end, As expected, most characters reach some violent and grim demise but even that was a bit unsatisfying. Like building up towards nothing. Idk. It was still good though. Not sure what was going on in her head as she wrote this but I don't wanna find out <3
Favourite Stories:
Everything That Rises Must Converge
The Enduring Chill
Judgement Day
Favourite Stories:
Everything That Rises Must Converge
The Enduring Chill
Judgement Day
A re-read from high school.
Still an amazing way with words
Still an amazing way with words
O'Connor writes precisely rendered stories of working-class, culturally anxious people we might now describe as "Trump voters." She is, indisputably, a master of mood and form, and she can write a single killer sentence better than anyone. Still, I find the total package a little bloodless.
*2023 update* I'm starting to get her.
*2023 update* I'm starting to get her.