The Gentle Insurrection and Other Stories

by Doris Betts

The stories in this first collection are concerned with some of the most private and complicated issues: living and dying, growing old, questioning one's beliefs, and recognizing one's own failings. Whether it be an elderly man struggling to come to terms with an incident in his past before the last light falls; a mill worker attempting to bring some color and distinction to his shabby yard and to his existence; or a meddling spinster who is forced to acknowledge the dance of resentment and need conducted between the races, in each of these stories a "gentle insurrection" occurs that changes lives, however subtly, forever.

Genres: Short Stories

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Doris Betts (1932-2012), former Chancellor of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, wrote nine novels and three collections of short stories, including The Gentle Insurrection, The Sharp Teeth of Love, Souls Raised from the Dead, which won the Southern Book Award, and Beasts of the Southern Wild, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. Betts taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for 35 years. She was a Guggenheim Fellow and received a medal from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

Reviews

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doris Betts' writing continues to challenge me. Sometimes it is hard to read her stories without flinching because of how close the situations hit to home. She is my favorite short story writer, and this collection is wonderful.