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readingthroughthelists's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I received The Complete Stories as a Christmas gift this year, sparking my now months-long obsession with reading all the Flannery O’Connor I can get my hands on.
The Complete Stories is a powerful body of work: while each story contains similarities in theme, setting, or character type, (or is clearly an early prototype for her two novels), each remains unique and interesting. I am already excited to go back and read them again.
Favorites:
“Good Country People”
“The Displaced Person”
“The Partridge Festival”
“Revelation”
“A Good Man is Hard to Find”
“The Enduring Chill”
The Complete Stories is a powerful body of work: while each story contains similarities in theme, setting, or character type, (or is clearly an early prototype for her two novels), each remains unique and interesting. I am already excited to go back and read them again.
Favorites:
“Good Country People”
“The Displaced Person”
“The Partridge Festival”
“Revelation”
“A Good Man is Hard to Find”
“The Enduring Chill”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
aidanhotte's review against another edition
Read 5 stories for class. Very well-written, but some of the lessons are dubious owing to O’Connor’s own prejudices. An important read to understand the changing American south during integration, nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Racial slurs
amaliaiaia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
During COVID, I revisited some od books and this was one of them. A few stories such as "a good man is hard to find", or " a stroke of good fortune" live up to their status while others felt like a product of their time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Murder, Racial slurs, Ableism, Violence, and Sexual violence
metchap's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
eeeeeeee's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Lots of n-words in these stories - reader beware!
Never having read O'Connor - or short stories - before, this was a challenging foray. I can't say I really liked any of the stories, but several are sticking with me, whatever that's worth.
Never having read O'Connor - or short stories - before, this was a challenging foray. I can't say I really liked any of the stories, but several are sticking with me, whatever that's worth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
kcbatts's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Death
mariacirillo's review
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Violence and Suicide
ericadansereau's review against another edition
Flannery thoughts: The short stories I’ve read so far (about half of the collection) are crafted with rich, thought provoking writing and symbolism. Her talent is certainly not lost on me. However, the stories are at times frustrating, dreary, and confusing to read. It seems as though O’Conner is attempting to tackle issues of racism, pride, self-righteousness, and more within her stories (I should note here, she was a white woman writing during the 40s-60s), but she doesn’t always accomplish this in a very obvious way. The more familiar I get with her writing and the longer each story has time to sit in my mind, the more I see the points she is trying to make. That being said, I would rather read about these issues NOT from the viewpoint of the oppressor, but from the oppressed, so I won’t be continuing to read this collection of her work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
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