Scan barcode
spauffwrites's review
4.0
I hadn't read any Flannery O'Connor before I picked up this book. Since I've finished it, I'm thinking about picking up her novel, Wise Blood, or maybe her biography, if there's a good one out there. I want to know what events in her life inspired such dark, weird stories. They read like fever dreams, full of odd-looking characters, moving slowly through the Georgia heat. Some find unexpected, divine revelations. Others commit acts so heinous you read the stories' end, over and over, because you can't believe how twisted it is.
I wouldn't read this book cover to cover -- I tried to do that at first, but then stopped because the themes started to get repetitive. Individual stories that stood out were A Good Man is Hard to Find, A Late Encounter with the Enemy, The Life You Save May Be Your Own, Good Country People, A View of the Woods and The Lame Shall Enter First. But all of the stories deserve a second and third read.
I wouldn't read this book cover to cover -- I tried to do that at first, but then stopped because the themes started to get repetitive. Individual stories that stood out were A Good Man is Hard to Find, A Late Encounter with the Enemy, The Life You Save May Be Your Own, Good Country People, A View of the Woods and The Lame Shall Enter First. But all of the stories deserve a second and third read.
rocketiza's review
2.0
Well she is a wonderful writer with a distinct voice, the stories themselves were just not interesting at all to me. Every once in a while I enjoyed one, but for the most part found myself just skimming or skipping many of them.
iamericat22's review
4.0
I had previously read the collection of stories "Everything That Rises Must Converge," and so the second half of the book (last 9 stories) were a revisit. Reading the full collection, I was able to see the progression of O'Connor's work from simple country tales to dark, profound gut- clenchers about the darker side of life.
This is classic American literature and as haunting as it is beautiful. No happy endings here.
This is classic American literature and as haunting as it is beautiful. No happy endings here.
gabesteller's review
5.0
I used to be a fake who said Flannery was one of my favorite authors AND YET if you kidnapped me and threatened my family I would have to admit i had only read a few of these stories
But now having Done The Work I can say folks she is even better than i remembered!!
Originally I read her for a religious lit class but what struck me this time and why I feel like she's so interesting to read at moment in the culture is she is a total master of portraying self justification. So many stories have these self satisfied condescending younger characters cringing at the racial attitudes of their parents/ bosses, and both are skewered for their arrogance and confidence that they have Figured It All Out. On top of these I was struck by the stories “Circle in the fire” and “The Displaced person” which are really excellent provocations about who owns owns land, and how Bosses respond to migrant labor.
After all this I was basically ready to call her Left writer until i remembered She was actually pretty racist, and said positive stuff about segregation even until the last weeks of her life. I mean obviously theres separating art from artist etc so maybe it ultimately has little bearing on the work, but it is jarring even to the idea that she was working through her racism in her writing since her attitudes only marginally improved over her life (at least according to what I read).
Now I'm starting to consider that she herself may be just an extremely sharp observer of hypocrisy rather than a particularly political writer. in which case, I would prescribe her to read her own work cuz they seem pretty political to me, and it seems like hypocrisy on par with one of her own goddamn characters to have written them and still hold the views she did.
But now having Done The Work I can say folks she is even better than i remembered!!
Originally I read her for a religious lit class but what struck me this time and why I feel like she's so interesting to read at moment in the culture is she is a total master of portraying self justification. So many stories have these self satisfied condescending younger characters cringing at the racial attitudes of their parents/ bosses, and both are skewered for their arrogance and confidence that they have Figured It All Out. On top of these I was struck by the stories “Circle in the fire” and “The Displaced person” which are really excellent provocations about who owns owns land, and how Bosses respond to migrant labor.
After all this I was basically ready to call her Left writer until i remembered She was actually pretty racist, and said positive stuff about segregation even until the last weeks of her life. I mean obviously theres separating art from artist etc so maybe it ultimately has little bearing on the work, but it is jarring even to the idea that she was working through her racism in her writing since her attitudes only marginally improved over her life (at least according to what I read).
Now I'm starting to consider that she herself may be just an extremely sharp observer of hypocrisy rather than a particularly political writer. in which case, I would prescribe her to read her own work cuz they seem pretty political to me, and it seems like hypocrisy on par with one of her own goddamn characters to have written them and still hold the views she did.
hayrabe's review
3.0
I enjoyed her writing but wow these stories got a little redundant really quick
jodyjsperling's review against another edition
5.0
For such a massive volume, it is difficult to arrange my thoughts. Malamud achieved a feat I've never seen before: He failed to write a single uninteresting short story in his entire life. Some stood out, but none bored. Each of the Fidleman stories--save the last--is a masterpiece. "Still Life" may be the greatest short story I've ever read, certainly in the top three. "The First Seven Years", too, is extraordinary.
As one who had read several of Malamud's novels, and adored his long-form fiction, I wondered if he could possibly achieve such heights in short-form. The answer is yes, yes, yes. I can confidently say that if anyone does not see the brilliance of Malamud, s/he is not reading attentively enough.
As one who had read several of Malamud's novels, and adored his long-form fiction, I wondered if he could possibly achieve such heights in short-form. The answer is yes, yes, yes. I can confidently say that if anyone does not see the brilliance of Malamud, s/he is not reading attentively enough.
aspygirlsmom_1995's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
voraciousrdr's review
5.0
just reread my high school senior paper on this collection & i analyzed o'connor through buddhism which was definitely a weird angle i don't know why i did that
lindseymarkel's review
5.0
I read this whole damn thing and enjoyed every page. THE MASTER, Y'ALL. After every story, I'd close the book and swoon and stare, stroke the cover and contemplate getting a peacock feather/eyeball tattoo. O Flannery! My Flannery!
alltheradreads's review
4.0
Oh, Flannery. You are my soul sister, I'm sure of it. Your stories have the weirdest, twistiest characters, there's always some dark or broken or messy element, there's always amazing lines or quotes... you're a master of your craft and I'm sad your life ended so soon and we didn't get to see more of what you can do. This book took me a few months to get through, as I really wanted to take these stories in and not just rush through them all, and I'm glad I didn't. Girl has a way with words and such a great mind for fiction, and even though I'm not usually the biggest fan of short stories, I know I'll return to hers and dive back in to glean more from them as time goes on.