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A review by clarkness
The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor
3.0
There were a few standouts in this collection. Several of the stories that became "Wise Blood" were excellent, as was "A Circle in the Fire". "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" was chilling and one of the best shorts I've ever read. Ultimately though, I felt like a complete collection of stories was a bit of an overload. O'Connor has a few themes that are heavily trod, some of which are fairly dated at this point. What strikes me about her writing regarding racism is that it feels like it has aged badly. While Huck Finn might not be particularly relevant as a social satire, the story retains its intrigue and power. Conversely, I felt that stories like "Everything That Rises Must Converge" were less compelling without the relevance they used to carry. I wasn't as invested in the characters and situations as I felt that I could have been.
I also found that O'Connor was a shrewd observer with a dark outlook on humanity. Nobody acquits themselves well in these stories. Intellectuals are thrashed by their noble intentions; the religious are trounced by their god; the optimists throttled by their own high hopes. At a certain point in this collection, I found that I wasn't investing myself in the characters because I knew their destruction was looming. In smaller doses it might have been easier to root for them, but as a whole, it got a bit dour.
I also found that O'Connor was a shrewd observer with a dark outlook on humanity. Nobody acquits themselves well in these stories. Intellectuals are thrashed by their noble intentions; the religious are trounced by their god; the optimists throttled by their own high hopes. At a certain point in this collection, I found that I wasn't investing myself in the characters because I knew their destruction was looming. In smaller doses it might have been easier to root for them, but as a whole, it got a bit dour.