In 1955, with this short story collection, Flannery O’Connor firmly laid claim to her place as one of the most original and provocative writers of her generation. Steeped in a Southern Gothic tradition that would become synonymous with her name, these stories show O’Connor’s unique view of life—infused with religious symbolism, haunted by apocalyptic possibility, sustained by the tragic comedy of … of human behavior, confronted by the necessity of salvation.
These classic stories—including “The Life You Save May Be Your Own,” “Good Country People,” “The Displaced Person,” and seven other acclaimed tales—are sure to inspire a new generation of Flannery O’Connor lovers, and remind existing readers why she remains a master of the short story.
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I didn’t like this book at all. Read it through because O’Connor is a “name” but I got disgusted with the negativity.
Though 1955’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find is a great Flannery O’Connor collection and story, this is a plug for “Good Country People,” in this same book, about a girl whose given name is Joy — Joy Hopewell — but who takes a new name — Hulga — when she loses a leg in an accident. The accident was years ago, but it also affected her heart, leaving her housebound and unemployed despite having a doctoral degree and a sky-high intellect. Thus she is trapped in the country where her only society is her uneducated mother and the couple farming their land. Years without any outlets for her innermost thoughts have turned Hulga from a hopeful young woman to a vessel of pure rage. Her company is like a second-degree burn. In a way, the story seems to be O’Connor’s take on N. Richard Nash’s 1954 play The Rainmaker. That story features another young woman rapidly wasting away to spinsterdom in the country who gets a last chance at love in the form of a traveling con artist/rainmaker. In O’Connor’s hands, the male lead becomes a traveling bible salesman named Manley Pointer, no education, who is the first young male Hulga has been near in years and who takes an immediate, intense interest in her. One thing to note here is the parallel between Hulga’s situation in life and O’Connor’s, who suffered from Lupus, was physically limited by her condition, and would not live to see forty. Though Hulga’s life may appear, well, Joy-less, and a dead-end to Hulga herself, O’Connor is able to see possibilities for her that she can’t from her own vantage point. To open Hulga to this opportunity, O’Connor brings Manley Pointer into her life, a young man with no scruples, no affection for other people, and not a single merciful or kind bone in his body. This is one thing that made O’Connor such an important writer: the far-sightedness of her wisdom. O’Connor’s take on Hulga’s situation is not that she is a tragically handicapped young woman in need of tender care by a man. Instead, O’Connor’s view is that what has happened to Hulga thus far in life is not bad enough. It’s left her stuck in this life that is in fact a living death. So O’Connor arranges for Manley Pointer to show up and force Hulga to experience something even worse.
This one my favorite collections of short stories. There’s a few that fall flat hence the 4, but I love the twists and imagery of how she weaves her stories. The allusions don’t feel forced either. Some are funny. Some are tragic. Most try to mix the two. While the first story in the title is the most popular, A temple of the Holt ghost and the baptism are still great and haunting.
In my view the best short story writer ever!
A stellar storyteller. Love Flannery!