Flannery O'Connor

[gonewiththewind]

I am just now reading Flannery O'Connor because someone of this forum suggested as a Southerner, I might want to check out some Southern writers. Bless the soul of that person (Who suggested Harry Crews as well - who I am waiting to read next)

The thing about Flannery O'Connor is that she is such a twisted sister! I had no idea. I am only a bit more than one third of the way into The Complete Stories and have already read about a small boy who throws himself into the river where he was baptised the day before while on an outing to a faith healer with a bible thumping babysitter. He drowns and is lost to the river.

I have read about a family of five (one boy, one girl, two parents and one Granny) who

Spoiler

are murdered while on a family vacation to Florida by an escape convict called "The Misfit". Granny is shot three times in the chest near the very end of the story which the Misfit ends by saying, "it's no real pleasure in life."

I have read about a bum in A Good Man Is Hard T Find who befriends an old woman and her mentally retarded daughter for food and board.

Spoiler

He ends up marrying the daughter and taking her off in the car for a weekend honeymoon only to abandon her as she sleeps in a diner and he heads off down the road in her dead daddy's car.

O'Connor was sure a surprise to me. I tend to enjoy a bit of the macabre. I hear her letters are very beautiful and you would not know from reading them that they had the same author. I will have read them to find out. I am ready for more Southern writers!!!

 

[Peder]

Many thanks for the spoilers! I now know a lot more about Flannery O'Connor's writing than I did before (which was nothing) and the information will all help with my browsing. Very useful!

 

[a lost weekend]

Flannery O'Connor is one of the few short fiction giants of the century. A supreme story-teller, original, unique, dark, sinister, often hilarious.

Her collected essays are a good read. There's one, I believe, called "On Writing" or "Writing Short Stories" or something like that. Read it.

 

[gonewiththewind]

Flannery O'Connor is one of the few short fiction giants of the century. A supreme story-teller, original, unique, dark, sinister, often hilarious.

Her collected essays are a good read. There's one, I believe, called "On Writing" or "Writing Short Stories" or something like that. Read it.

The dark side of her writing was a surprise to me. Had I known more about her I would have read her work years ago. I would have to agree with her being a giant of the century of short fiction writing. I always considered myself fairly well read but she was a real pleasant surprise.

Thanks for the heads up on her essays. I had already determined to read her letters (which are said to be brilliant), now I will add the essays to my ever growing "Must Read" list.

 

[Anamnesis]

You should check out The Violent Must Bear It Away. Just as twisted (if not more so) than her short stories. I had to read the book for a course on 20th Century Lit and enjoyed it, even though some of her sentences are unnecessarily long. . .

 

[chikichiki]

^^^ that's an awesome read!