Customer Reviews:
Classic.......2007-05-11
Now that I've read everything by O'Connor (including works that were part of her thesis for her degree in writing) I am still amazed and inspired by her work. I'm not from the south or Catholic and I was not alive during the eras of which she wrote, but her writing transcends region and time. My favorites remain A Good Man is Hard to Find, Everything That Rises Must Converge, and Revelation, but I love all her stories, although I find the novels a bit more challenging - I think short story was her finest form. Her ability to mix desperation and violence with comedy is amazing, and often when I read her I think: "I shouldn't be laughing at that." I often wonder what additional work she would have produced if she had not died so young. Highly recommended.
Great literature in great binding.......2007-01-16
I am thoroughly enjoying this authoritative collection of O'Connor's writings. The writing speaks for itself as truly great and unique. This particular book is very classy and well put together; an excellent choice for someone with a significant interest in O'Connor.
Amazing Grace.......2006-01-21
How sweet the sound that saved this wreched human race. O'Connor writes of God's love and redemption of humanity. She uses exaggeration to make her point. Her characters are so very silly, obtuse, bigoted, loathsome they become cartoons, yet there is a deep integrity to their shallowness. She's not making fun of them, but giving them the justice of a pitiless description. Indeed they do not seem judged, but naked -- the fruits of their stupid, misguided ideas and actions on display. And these children of God do shocking things to others and themselves. And yet . . ..
And yet God allows them to live and learn, or not learn if that is their inclination. He gives them this freedom. He loves them. How can this be? How?
I love O'Connor for her art, her convictions, her courage, and her love. She is so very true and honest.
In addition to her novels and a thorough selection of short stories, there is a chronology of her life and a selection of her letters which are rewarding reading. The book itself is a wonderful object. The pages are of fine paper. The binding is such that you can lay it open on a table without breaking its back, and the pages will not move unless a breeze or you do so.
a lovely book.......2004-12-23
Oh yes! I adore her, and so do my mum and dad. They talk about her all of the time, and so I grew up with the prose ringing in my ears. I am so pleased to be reading her now.
Just Read It All.......2004-09-02
The complaints about the poor organization of the collection can be overcome by simply reading it from front to back. Surely it is that good.
My foray into the works of Flannery O'Connor, a southern, gothic author of darkly humorous novels and short stories came via a recommendation in Harold Bloom's, "What to Read and Why." As it turned ot, I had read one of her short stories, "A Good Man is Hard to Find," in a collection somewhere and had been surprised and shocked, by the turn of events and ending of the story, so much so, that I remembered it instantly, even though it has to have been thirty years since I read it. I enjoyed everything, short stories, novellas, and even her letters. She writes about southern Christ-haunted people, most backward, all damned, but many redeemed. Bloom says that according to her, we are all damned but one should put that aside and simply enjoy her beautiful, grotesque, and wonderful comedic stories. Her protagonist is often a woman, forced to take on a role and duties she didn't sign up for but resignedly and with no illusions playing and discharging both out of a sense of morality or necessity; those women are usually the most superior beings in her stories.
Many of her insights stick with me months afterwards. For example, O'Connor says in one of her letters, "...Hazel's integrity lies in his not being able to do so. Does one's integrity ever lie in what he is not able to do? I think that usually it does, for free will does not mean one will, but many wills conflicting in one man. Freedom cannot be conceived simply. It is a mystery and one which a novel, even a comic novel, can only be asked to deepen." That brought tears to my eyes -- perhaps because it is so beautifully put.
Book Description
First published in 1955, The Violent Bear It Away is now a landmark in American literature. It is a dark and absorbing example of the Gothic sensibility and bracing satirical voice that are united in Flannery O'Conner's work. In it, the orphaned Francis Marion Tarwater and his cousins, the schoolteacher Rayber, defy the prophecy of their dead uncle--that Tarwater will become a prophet and will baptize Rayber's young son, Bishop. A series of struggles ensues: Tarwater fights an internal battle against his innate faith and the voices calling him to be a prophet while Rayber tries to draw Tarwater into a more "reasonable" modern world. Both wrestle with the legacy of their dead relatives and lay claim to Bishop's soul.
O'Connor observes all this with an astonishing combination of irony and compassion, humor and pathos. The result is a novel whose range and depth reveal a brilliant and innovative writers acutely alert to where the sacred lives and to where it does not.
Customer Reviews:
Astounding work from a master.......2007-10-07
I am in awe of Flannery O'Connor. After studying her in college, I finally sat down to read this novel and was captivated the entire time. I just saw a screening of the movie No Country For Old Men, a film that really reminded me of O'Connor, specifically the short story A Good Man is Hard To Find, which got me thinking again about how much I love her writing. O'Connor has a unique tone to her writing, and it's one that really speaks to me as a reader. The plot was fascinating and had several truly memorable scenes that are haunting and sad, yet her work has a darkly comic tone through much of the novel. Impossible to resist! I would suggest this novel to anyone who is a fan of great fiction and I plan on reading as many of her works as possible.
Good story.......2007-01-04
The book reads with less action then the current style of writing. Her writing is excellent.
"...where the children of God lay sleeping.".......2006-09-21
And off Francis Marion Tarwater goes, into to the city to realize his destiny as prophet (and religious zealot.) What a beautiful book this is. Both Mason Tarwater and Rayber are two people whom I would never like to come across. Both are extremes of self-righteousness that I despise. Notice how O'Connor repeatedly uses the themes of destruction and redemption. A death underwater, but a baptism at the same time; a rape, but "eyes burned clean." Heady stuff.
Put away your Faulkner, and start reading O'Connor. The old man should have come and taken lessons from the young woman.
PS: O'Connor was 35 when this book came out in 1960, and died at 39 years of age in 1964.
Haunting, beautiful, astonishing.......2006-04-25
I am new to Flannery O'Connor. My introduction to her was through popular culture. She was mentioned in an interview with Bono and Sufjan Stevens adores her. And who hasn't heard of "A Good Man is Hard to Find," even if they haven't read it? Regardless, I don't read a lot of fiction, and am by no means a literary critic, but some thoughts follow.
I can't say why I started with this book and not "A Good Man...", other than that I wanted to start with something that was not as familiar. Having read nothing about the book prior to reading it (which is the best way to experience it), I came away utterly astonished at what I had read. To echo another reviewer's comments, sometimes it becomes excruciatingly painful to continue reading, but I was so drawn into the story that I couldn't put it down. I knew of O'Connor's penchant for shock, but there was one event in particular that I was absolutely unprepared for, and I'll let the reader discover what that was.
I'm very impressed with O'Connor's crisp style, which is intelligent yet accessible and capable of vividly portraying the internal transformation of her characters. She is also gifted in her manipulation of her characters' faults to serve the drama. One example of this genius was revealed when I found out why Rayber had a hearing aid--not why he needed one, but why the story needed him to have one. It was a masterful stroke.
My only complaint is that Frances, at age 14, seemed far more sure of himself and the world around him and what he wanted and didn't want than are most real children his age. In that regard, he was a little unbelievable, but it didn't take too much away from my enjoyment of this haunting, beautiful, and astonishing novel.
The Southern Gothic struggle between religious belief and secular knowledge.......2005-12-04
O'Connor second and last novel is a sometimes comic yet ultimately tragic novel about a young Southern boy's spiritual development. Francis Tarwater, who is fourteen years old, has been sheltered from society in the Alabama boondocks by his great-uncle, Old Tarwater, who is grooming the boy to be a somewhat reluctant prophet, espousing a unique hybrid of countrified Christianity.
The novel's plot is simultaneously bizarre in event and puzzling in intent, and it is heavy with Old Testament imagery. At the opening of the novel, Old Tarwater has died, leaving Francis with the task of burying him. The boy abandons his assignment and flees to the city, searching for an atheistic uncle, George Rayber, who had spurned Old Tarwater's lessons decades earlier. During his life, Old Tarwater had been obsessed with need to baptize Bishop's mentally handicapped son, and Francis wavers between the need to complete his great-uncle's mission and his reluctance to follow in the old man's footsteps.
The bulk of the story, however, concerns the struggle between Francis and his uncle George--between metaphysical belief and secular knowledge. George is a parody of the arrogance of modern thinking; he is wedded to the belief that humans are shaped by their environment and by the atoms of which they are composed. Francis, on the other hand, is a portrait of the mysterious and even violent nature of religious passion.
Scholars and a legion of the author's fans have pointed out (correctly) that O'Connor did not mean Francis's character to be a satirical depiction of religious fanaticism. Yet the many critics and students who have mistaken both Francis and Old Tarwater as caricatures underscore the novel's greatest weakness; the social context has run away from the author. Even in 1960, when the novel was published, the two "hicks" seemed vaguely preposterous and dangerously harebrained to many reviewers (much to O'Connor's chagrin), and today's readers have an even more difficult time seeing these two-would be prophets as anything more than backwoods stereotypes.
Yet this tension between the author's intentions and the reader's reception hardly diminishes the power of O'Connor's vision; if anything, its accidental parody of fundamentalism offsets her deliberate (and undeniably unfair) satire of secularism. As in her other work, O'Connor is exploring the difficulty of seeking (and of finding) spiritual deliverance, especially since the path to salvation often leads the seeker away from the individuality of his or her own identity. The struggle that O'Connor portrays--between religion and secularism--is surely as present and relevant today as it is was fifty years ago.
Book Description
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Book Description
Miss Lydia Grenville finds solace sketching in the woods. That is, until a handsome-but-ruffled gentleman of obscure background grows fond of the forest, too. Now, if Lydia can look up from her art long enough to notice, there just might be a surprise awaiting her.
Customer Reviews:
Where or Where are the Good Authors At??.......2006-07-12
This book is so stuffed with overly trite cliches and over-worked plot moves that I couldn't really appreciate the author or her lack-luster attempts to bring forth a Good story.
This uneventful tale is basically about a bride groom-hunting gentry girl who finds luck in a possible husband when the man she's been meeting in the woods turns out to be a duke. Nearly every bit of cookie-cutter plot device is used in this book to create one piecemeal offering of wasted time for some readers.
The only thing that was good about this book was that the characters seemed a little more redeemable. I did like the our hero, the duke enough to give this book a fair rating. However, the duke's ward was someone I couldn't like and I had a VERY hard time believing Lydia (our heroine) was good friends with the waspish and pouty brat Fanny. The other characters (excluding Fanny) were believable and seemed to act out in the ways readers expect, but not enough for me to fall head over heels to keep this book on my shelf.
My final rating: 2.5 stars with only a paltry set of characters that redeem the UN-extraordinary plot.
Unless you're a devout Bergin fan, pass this up.
AND PLEASE CARLA KELLY COME BACK TO THE WORLD OF REGENCIES and save us all!!
My recommendations: Naturally anything Carla Kelly; The Counterfeit Coachman, The Silent Suitor, A Fresh Perspective by Elisabeth Fairchild, The Captain's Secret, Labor of Love and defintely Kiss of the highwayman Jenna Mindel, Barbara Metger, Nancy Butler.
Enjoyable.......2005-08-18
It took me a few chapters to get into the book, but by halfway through I was into it and really enjoyed it after that. The story got better than what I had figured would be just another predictabe regency romance. Good read!
Wonderful Traditional Regency!.......2005-06-17
I loved Lousie Bergin's debut book - "The Spinster and the Wastrel" which was a prestigious Golden Heart finalist. And this, her third book, is wonderful too. It's a perfect summer read by the sea or the pool...
Here's what Romantic Times magazine had to say:
"After suffering an unsuccessful season, Miss Lydia Grenville returns to her countryside home. One afternoon, while sketching neighboring Winterbourne castle, she meets a handsome man who introduces himself as "Alexander." John Penhope, new Duke of Winterbourne, is a scholar of the classics. Immersed in one of his books just before encountering Lydia, he accidentally says the wrong name when introducing himself. Ordinarily quite shy around women, he's amazed that Lydia finds his discussion of Greek history fascinating. But the bond they form is soon shattered when Lydia discovers that she's been spending time with The Winter Duke (3). Enamored with him-and, admittedly, his title-Lydia begins to imagine a grand future in Louise Bergin's latest. Passion, acceptance and propriety make the road to romance uncertain for this deserving couple."
Light weight book.......2005-05-10
Love seems unattainable to Lydia Greenville after her failed Season on the Ton. Coming home to social obligations and recriminations drives her into the woods for solace in her sketching. There she meets a rumpled young man who immediately charms her, but she thinks his social status is below hers, so it can't work-- or can it. As it happens, her woodland knight is not a peasant but a Duke. Though at first infuriated by the deception, Lydia's heart overcomes her outrage in time.
*** With this light weight book, the Regency fan will be well pleased. It fits the formula of this romance very neatly. ***
Another strong Regency.......2005-04-26
Lydia Grenville recently had her first Season in London... and she was most decidedly a failure. Never mind the fact that she had a few proposals here and there. She did not accomplish what she set out to do: capture a titled husband.
The bookish Duke of Winterbourne only recently acquired his title. While strolling along his castle grounds, his comes across Lydia, sketching in the woods. He introduces herself as "Alexander", and she assumes he is the new duke's secretary. And a secretary is no match for a lady such as herself.
Eventually, his real identity is revealed. And Lydia knows exactly what she wants.
"The Winter Duke" is a very enjoyable book. Regency readers will like the traditional plot elements and sweetness, despite the lack of action. While not as strong as Louise Bergin's previous books, it is still an enjoyable read. 4 *'s
Product Description
Legendary guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Hubert Sumlin, T-Bone Walker, Johnnie Winter, Albert King, Freddie King, and Chuck Berry are known to all blues fans for their remarkable soloing abilities. But the complete blues guitarist must do more than shine in the solo spotlight. And that is why every great soloist is also a great fill-in player.Tasteful fill-in licks support and inspire the singer while adding fire and drive to the performance. For example, Blind Lemon Jeffersons string-snapping fill-ins provided the perfect complement for his rough-hewn blues songs. Both Louis Armstrong and Lester Young seemed to talk to the singer with their finely-crafted, jazzy fill-ins. And Henry Sunflower Vestines stinging, buzzsaw fill-ins never failed to drive his Canned Heat bandmates into a psychedelic frenzy.This book is accompanied by a user-friendly split-track CD allows you to sit in with a professional blues band while you learn to play blues fills behind a great singer, Charles Adkins. The Heat-Seeking Missile Blues Band is heard on the left channel; the fill-in licks are isolated on the right channel.This is not just another book of abstract how do I use these licks in real life? licks, but a collection of solid musical ideas that can be applied to thousands of real songs. Another fine contribution from Red Dog Music Books, designed for the early intermediate-to intermediate guitarist. Some of the licks are accessible to highly motivated near-beginners, and the book is an excellent resource for teachers.
Product Description
This superb Red Dog Music Book and CD allows you to learn/play slide guitar fill-ins while sitting in with a crisply recorded blues band and singer. The licks are clearly written in standard notation and tablature, and the companion CD contains all 101 licks, which are applicable to countless blues songs. A guide to symbols and several helpful fretboard diagrams are included. The licks are recorded on electric guitar but can also be played on acoustic. Overall, a very fine book that will provide unlimited learning and enjoyment. Many slide guitar books are confusing because they try to cover too many tunings. Everything here is in open E. Songs include standards such as Joe Turner Blues, St. Louis Blues, Sportin Life Blues, House of the Rising Sun, Midnight Special, along with several new songs written to standard blues changes. Like Hound Dog Taylor, J.B. Hutton, and Elmore James? Then you will like this book.
Product Description
Blues guitar teachers, serious students, and blues band guitarists will all enjoy his large collection of 100% pure blues and boogie solos for guitar. Twenty-five exciting solos are presented here, each played over its own rhythm progression.Every solo is transcribed in both standard notation and tablature, and played note for-note with a full band on the professionally recorded companion CD.This book is for the intermediate, or better, guitarist whose interests include authentic, non-commercial blues musicthe good stuff that is seldom heard via mass-market channels such as radio and television.Guitar teachers might use the book to introduce new hand positions, fingerings, chords, and theoretical concepts. Each solo is made up of many interesting phrases (licks) that can be adapted and incorporated into your own style.The solos are relatively challenging, and can be used in blues jams and on stage. Another SUPER COOL and USEFUL music book by Larry McCabe.
Book Description
The French duke's contract bride!
Lance Malbois,
Duc du Lac
: a hardened military man with a scar that crosses his cheek— and reaches right to his heart. But all he wants is to hold a child in his arms and be called 'Daddy.'
Andrea Fallon: pregnant, widowed and alone, she's determined to give her baby the father and family she never had.
The perfect solution: a marriage of convenience—?
Book Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1872 edition by the Riverside Press, Cambridge.
Books:
- Heart and Soul (The Hunters, Book 8)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- How to Succeed in the Game of Life: 34 Interviews with the World's Greatest Coaches
- I And Thou
- Imperial Leather: Race, Gender, and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest
- Just As I Am: A Novel
- Kafka on the Shore
- Keeping Faith: A Novel (P.S.)
- Kiss of the Spider Woman
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
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- Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games
- New Profits from Old Buildings: Private Enterprise Approaches to Making Preservation Pay
- The Kreutzer Sonata
- Textile Designs: Two Hundred Years of European and American Patterns Organized by Motif, Style, Colo
- The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition--with a new Introduction by the Author
- The Outermost House: A Year of Life On The Great Beach of Cape Cod
- Wristwatch Annual 2003: The Catalog of Producers, Models, and Specifications
- Saying No Is Not Enough: Helping Your Kids Make Wise Decisions About Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Dru
- Starvation In Bacteria
General
| Classics
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter/Reflections in a Golden Eye/The Ballad of the Sad Cafe/The Member of the Wedding/The Clock Without Hands (Library of America)
Flannery O'Connor: Spiritual Writings (Modern Spiritual Masters Series.)
The Complete Stories
Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose
