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A review by pris_asagiri
Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor
5.0
Every Bookish friend has said "you have to read this one". So I dutifully put this on my tbr because when they say "you have to read it" you have to read it. But like all good literature, it generally takes me a few years to get around to it (I have a backlog due to my persistence in reading books that belong on the "just want to read it" list.)
Then an Audible sale came along and Bronson Pinchot narrates and *boom* suddenly this skyrocketed up my reading list. And then I turned it on and Bronson Pinchot doesn't sound like Bronson Pinchot. And I don't mean he doesn't sound like Balki Bartokomous, which he doesn't. But he doesn't sound like Bronson Pinchot. And the first five minutes made no sense to me and so I shut it off. I picked at it a few more times, each time not getting into more than 5 minutes of it before I realized my mind was wandering and I wasn't listening at all. I read the synopsis, which I loathe to do, and my heart sank. It's a collection of short stories. I am so screwed.
But then I was clearing out my audiobooks, telling myself I cannot get a pile of unread audiobooks on top of all the tree books and ebooks I have. So I was determined to just grit and bear it.
And once I got over that Bronson Pinchot won't sound like I think he should sound like, I settled into the first story...and was promptly blown away. And as each story progressed, I felt the rawness of history bleeding into my life. If ever I wanted to understand the race relations of my country today, the first thing to do is understand where it was yesterday. The good intentions, the well meanings, the "live and let live as long as you live on your side", the seething rage that is never really allowed to boil over, the misunderstandings, the fear. What existed then continues to exist today and the words and thoughts said then, are repeated almost word-for-word today.
This is one of those books I am so grateful I have the kind of friends who would read it and tell me "you have to read this".
Some of the stories are better than others. I enjoyed all the narrators, even not-Bronson Pinchot (who ended up being my favorite). I only wish they had read the title of each story. I have no way of referring to which ones I really loved. The first one. The "spaceman". The lady with the bull. But each were well crafted. If all short stories were like this, I'd be a huge fan of the craft.
Then an Audible sale came along and Bronson Pinchot narrates and *boom* suddenly this skyrocketed up my reading list. And then I turned it on and Bronson Pinchot doesn't sound like Bronson Pinchot. And I don't mean he doesn't sound like Balki Bartokomous, which he doesn't. But he doesn't sound like Bronson Pinchot. And the first five minutes made no sense to me and so I shut it off. I picked at it a few more times, each time not getting into more than 5 minutes of it before I realized my mind was wandering and I wasn't listening at all. I read the synopsis, which I loathe to do, and my heart sank. It's a collection of short stories. I am so screwed.
But then I was clearing out my audiobooks, telling myself I cannot get a pile of unread audiobooks on top of all the tree books and ebooks I have. So I was determined to just grit and bear it.
And once I got over that Bronson Pinchot won't sound like I think he should sound like, I settled into the first story...and was promptly blown away. And as each story progressed, I felt the rawness of history bleeding into my life. If ever I wanted to understand the race relations of my country today, the first thing to do is understand where it was yesterday. The good intentions, the well meanings, the "live and let live as long as you live on your side", the seething rage that is never really allowed to boil over, the misunderstandings, the fear. What existed then continues to exist today and the words and thoughts said then, are repeated almost word-for-word today.
This is one of those books I am so grateful I have the kind of friends who would read it and tell me "you have to read this".
Some of the stories are better than others. I enjoyed all the narrators, even not-Bronson Pinchot (who ended up being my favorite). I only wish they had read the title of each story. I have no way of referring to which ones I really loved. The first one. The "spaceman". The lady with the bull. But each were well crafted. If all short stories were like this, I'd be a huge fan of the craft.