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Flannery O'Connor....
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I absolutely ADORE Flannery O'Connor.
I remember reading A Good Man is Hard to Find in college, sophomore year English Lit, to be exact. This to me what the short story that told me just how powerful that format can be, and I was floored by how O'Connor turned the tables on her protagonists; while the Misfit clearly has an evil intent, it's the Grandmother's selfishness that leads to inevitable yet horrifying conclusion, yet there's the notion of charity and salvation that permeates in the end.
I'm not doing O'Connor any justice, though. You have to read her for yourself to understand why I think she's simply spectacular.
I remember reading A Good Man is Hard to Find in college, sophomore year English Lit, to be exact. This to me what the short story that told me just how powerful that format can be, and I was floored by how O'Connor turned the tables on her protagonists; while the Misfit clearly has an evil intent, it's the Grandmother's selfishness that leads to inevitable yet horrifying conclusion, yet there's the notion of charity and salvation that permeates in the end.
I'm not doing O'Connor any justice, though. You have to read her for yourself to understand why I think she's simply spectacular.
'Wiseblood' had a serious impact on me when I was eighteen.
Love her, but I've only read a few stories. Need to fix that!I adore Sufjan Stevens' song "A Good Man is Hard to Find", which was based on the story. I'd encourage everyone who liked the story to give it a listen, even if you're not a Sufjan fan.
We're the only ones on TC who have read O'Connor? I agree, this must be rectified.
Flannery O'Connor by far is my most favorite all time author and probably the most influential when it comes to my own writing and work. I joined this discussion group when I saw this thread. Ahhhh! I could go on and on about this woman! I have hero worship! If only I could be so clever!
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Sally wrote: "I've never read her. Think I should. Isn't The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers, though?"It is. That's another book I own and haven't read. They're both Southern writers. (Right? Maybe I'm wrong.)
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~surette/go... is O'Connor's most famous story. I will say nothing about the copyright issues that may/may not exist here.
Welcome to TC Charlie, I hope you find other threads interesting as well.
Charlie, please go on. The world needs more people discussing Flannery O'Connor.
Funny you should bring this up -- I read Everything That Rises Must Converge on my trip, having only read a handful of her stories in the past. I haven't reviewed any of my vacation reads yet.In any case, I'm curious to read her other collections now. These stories were beautifully written and tragic, but had the distinct flavor of a coda; I think she was really sick when writing them, and they were the last things she completed before her death.
Reading that quickly I thought Jim said "welcome back, Sistah!"
O'Connor was a deeply, devote Catholic. I find this interesting. I love the fact that she chose to relay a moral through a dark tale rather than being preachy. The most twisted and corrupt characters are those that are outwardly depicted 'religious' like the Bible salesman. The good are bad, and the bad become good through enlightenment or epiphany. It makes a person wonder why she did this, what was she saying about those who appear pious or use religion to gain trust. Thematically, I just think she is brilliant. She wasn't blinded or fooled by her deep moral beliefs, and she obviously was quick to see those who were false representations of what she loved. She wasn't a fraud, but she could spot one and wanted her readers to do the same. So clever!
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Yes, I love her.About her being a devout Catholic and not being afraid to pick on religious people: it should be remembered that, especially in the south, Catholics and Protestants look(ed) upon each other with suspicion, so it's not that she's really looking for the log in her own eye. I may be wrong, but as I recall her twisted religious characters are all Baptist/Pentacostal or the like. Those are the dominant denominations in this region, but she was an outsider looking in on that sort of thing and no doubt reflected her own judgment of what would seem really bizarre to a Catholic.
I haven't read Flannery, but I think I should. I am reading Gogol now, and the intro of the book betgins with Flannery's quote. She writes "I like Tolstoy too but Gogol is necessary along with the light". So I am already curious about her.
I have Everything That Rises Must Converge on my shelf but haven't read it yet. Sometimes a thread 
The other southern author whose work I really love is Eudora Welty. I was just writing some personal reflections about her fiction here: http://shimosreadinglist.blogspot.com...
Just read "A Good Man...." for an English class. Powerful stuff and reminded me of "The Lottery". I enjoy stirrers who are not afraid to push the boundaries of a readers assumptions or expectations.
Sorry for the mis-spelling; should have been " authors" not " stirrers". Thanks for the help, I -Phone, but I'm an awful speller all by myself!
Happy birthday, Flannery O'Connor...
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This is a hell of a book:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28...
And there's a new biography out, too...