Flannery O'Connor

Nine modern short stories that often bristle with caustic humor

Everything That Rises Must Converge

Jess Z

Callie Anna

To be clear, I did not read the entire collection of short stories, just Everything that Rises Must Converge. Very good and interesting.

Kyle S

3.5 stars, because short story collections are hard to grade. I picked up this book for two reasons: it was free in one of those little neighborhood libraries, and the name just caught my attention. I had no idea what I was getting into.

Each story is about a broken selfish or self righteous character getting their comeuppance. From racist old ladies to young pretentious artists each story ends with some sort of dark (and sometimes violent) twist. I enjoyed the ride and there were two stories in particular I loved (The Enduring Chill & The Comforts of Home) which is why I'm giving this 4 stars on Goodreads. The collection was worth it for those two stories alone.

I will give a content warning for the collection: O'Conner wrote her stories about her life in Georgia during the 50s & 60s and since some of her characters are racist bigots there is an excessive use of racial slurs in some of the stories. Although the stories are about these said racist having their karma they can be hard to get through at times.

Rjyan C Kidwell

So Flannery's first short story collection is a little bit cartoony, right? I mean, it's still ultimately quite dark and has a powerful, nuanced vision of sin and salvation, but it's laugh-out-loud funny, too. This book, the second collection, was published a decade later, when Flannery knew she was dying of lupus, so it makes sense that it's darker-- but oh man, it almost feels like the characters are more real and a cartoonish version of Flannery O'Connor is punching the keys on this one. Doom looms heaaaavy as lead from the opening line of every story, and each and every one depicts a family that is so bleakly devoid of love that it's almost audaciously over-the-top. But... almost. The way these relations grate on each other and wage constant, quiet war is depressing as hell but rings too true. It did feel like a slog to get through the first couple, but once you get the one-two punch of "The Comforts of Home" and "The Lame Shall Enter First," you will not regret the trek.

Advanced Level English

Everything that Rises Must Converge

Simon Elliott Stegall

"Everything That Rises Must Converge" (1965) is nine posthumous stories. The introduction is by Robert Fitzgerald.

Maytal

Absolute perfection. I wish that never ended.

Emily S

At first I really struggled to understand the stories and thought “I think these require actual study, so maybe I won’t read them after all.” Then something changed and I understood and the stories became *masterful*. Dark much of the time, but real.

Matthew Washburn

Patrick Book

Dr Seth Jones

Traci Wilbanks

Bekah Contreras

Angie Lee

Joshua Line

Julian, a recent college graduate, accompanies his mother on the bus to her weekly exercise session. A self-styled intellectual, Julian resents his mother’s ingrained prejudice and superiority, but is forced to face the consequences when their actions put them at odds with the passengers of their recently racially-integrated bus. American author Flannery O’Connor is known for her portrayal of flawed characters and their inevitable spiritual transformation. “Everything That Rises Must Converge” addresses themes of institutional discrimination at a time when racial barriers were being shattered. HarperPerennialClassics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.

Everything That Rises Must Converge

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