Reviews
captures the southern narrative so much better than faulkner
misogynistic, boring, ITS A F*CKING SHORT STORY AND I COULDN'T WAIT FOR IT TO BE OVER.
Flannery O'Connor was a Goddess of the sublime. The main story in this book "A Good Man is Hard to Find" changed my life. I had never read any of the "southern" writers before this and after reading this story I couldn't wait to read more. Not for the faint of heart this collection really shows the power of O'Connor's writing and the conflict of good versus evil and the ambiguity that exists in a world where good and evil are not so easily defined.
Great story; nicely written of course, but also very tragic. Explores some interesting themes and ideas that really do make you think. Especially that conversation between the grandmother and the Misfit at the end. Wow. Crazy. I hated how it ended honestly but I knew going in, so that helped.
The namesake story is excellent, and well worth reading. The others less so in my opinion.
An exemplary short story collection that has become a classic. The stories are cinematic, dark, funny, deeply Catholic, violent, grotesque, shocking, and truthful to the bizarre realty of human nature. Sadly, Flannery O'Connor was a product of her times, and her overt racism can't be erased away. She is still one of my favorite writers for the way she paints a scene and for her use humor, and her sly eye. But, reader beware, yes these stories will make you chuckle. But a few will make you mighty uncomfortable too. Favorites: A Good Man is Hard to Find, Good Country People, The River, and The Temple of the Holy Ghost.
It's abt 1950's racist America, it has some symbolism and religious undertones. Flannery's writing is sharp and deft. A nice intro to this writer's world, for me.
quoting a review that i just read ‘“O’Connor believes in God, but not much in people” and also “nobody is alive before they’re dead”. Those two quotes are the representation of each one of the ten short-stories. Flannery puts in a way that you might think the only ‘salvation’ in world is to believe in God and to see Devil in people and humanity — very Old Testament vibes here.
What a masterpiece, O’Conner blew me away with each story. Even now, almost 60 years later, her stories are still culturally relevant and have something to teach us. But this was definitely not a light read, O’Conner packs so much meaning and symbolism in her shorts that its best to be read slowly.
One of my all-time favorite short story writers. This woman lived her faith with boldness and created upheaval in much of the fiction world writing about themes of graces and salvation. A good man is hard to find and good country people are two books that are unmatched in how people perceive redemption. A must read for anyone looking for something a little out of their comfort zone but also widely known and popular!!!
It took a bit for me to get over the fact that these weren't happy stories. Once I did, I found them really thought provoking and interesting. "Good Country People" and "The Displaced Person" were my favorites. Sadly, "The Displaced Person" still rings true in light of ongoing discussions about immigration here and in Europe. I read this along with "The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimmage" by Paul Elie. It's dense but has some interesting insights in O'Connor including this collection of short stories.
I guess I just didn't love it as much as I wanted to. O'Connor knows how to write a story, but some of them weren't that interesting. The title story is not one of these, though. That one I had to read in one sitting.
There's 10 stories in O'Connor's A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND: in at least 8 of them the sun appears in a sickly or otherwise denigrated form. I think you could make a good argument that most of O'Connor's stories are Dying Earth stories.
This book starts off humorous and enjoyable then takes a quick horrific turn. Wasn’t expecting that at all! Super short read, finished it in less than 30 minutes.
Well that was horrifying. For ENGL101.
A summary of ratings for each story: A Good Man is Hard to Find: 2 stars The River: 3 stars The Life You Save May Be Your Own: 4 stars A Stroke of Good Fortune: 2 stars A Temple of the Holy Ghost: 2 stars A story with a title I will not repeat: 0 stars A Circle in the Fire: 2 stars A Late Encounter With the Enemy: 4 stars Good Country People: 4 stars The Displaced Person: 2 stars I think it's safe to say I am not a fan of Southern Gothic Lit. Who knew? Not I. While O'Connor may be a talented writer of her era, these stories are in fact of her era. Which means much derogatory slang, words I do not deign to repeat, and overall, stories that make me abandon a little bit of hope for the modern world. While there were a few ones I liked, for the most part the others gave me the same feeling I got with short stories in the past - which is to say, why would you even write that? My favourite was definitely A Late Encounter With the Enemy, and I would almost say that I wouldn't mind reading that again. It did remind me of the book version of Forrest Gump (which is vastly different than the film, for the record), although that's likely because it's one of the only other books I've read that take place in this era in the South. Anyway, long story short (ha!) I'm glad I read this, but I hope I don't read anything like it again.
