A review by shoelessmama
The Complete Stories, by Flannery O'Connor
5.0
It wasn't too many stories into this collection before I realized that plowing through, story after story was not a good idea. If I began one story as soon as I finished the last I would get several paragraphs in before I realized my head was still back in the previous story. I had to take a break between stories and let them marinate for a while. These stories were not pleasant, they were brutal, they tended to make one introspective, they were uncomfortable and they were affecting. There is no doubt that Flannery O'Connor was a very gifted writer and I'm grateful for her honest writing.
However, there are different kinds of honesty for different people. I think Ms. O'Connor was more interested in getting a point across than in showing us how life really is- unless it's just on the level of what goes on inside our heads. If I were going to write a short story in the style of Flannery O'Conner (and fail miserably, no doubt) the main character would be someone who is only intelligent enough to make some people think that she is smarter than she is and who would give a five star rating to a well-written, highly symbolic tome (such as this) just because presumably intellectual people have done so and she doesn't want them to realize that she didn't get it like they (obviously) did.
Don't think that I don't really believe that this deserves 5 stars (because I really don't DO that- honest as can be with my ratings, cross my heart and hope to die) and I think you can create a character out of pieces of yourself without it being your whole self. I KNOW that there were elements of these short stories that went completely over my head and I certainly didn't grasp all of the symbolism. But the things that I did get were stunning. And I have to say- I'm so very glad I don't live in Flannery O'Conner's world even though it was absolutely fascinating to inhabit it for little snippets of time. The more I read the more addicted I became. Highly recommended- not particularly to the faint of heart and not if you're the happy-ending loving sort.
However, there are different kinds of honesty for different people. I think Ms. O'Connor was more interested in getting a point across than in showing us how life really is- unless it's just on the level of what goes on inside our heads. If I were going to write a short story in the style of Flannery O'Conner (and fail miserably, no doubt) the main character would be someone who is only intelligent enough to make some people think that she is smarter than she is and who would give a five star rating to a well-written, highly symbolic tome (such as this) just because presumably intellectual people have done so and she doesn't want them to realize that she didn't get it like they (obviously) did.
Don't think that I don't really believe that this deserves 5 stars (because I really don't DO that- honest as can be with my ratings, cross my heart and hope to die) and I think you can create a character out of pieces of yourself without it being your whole self. I KNOW that there were elements of these short stories that went completely over my head and I certainly didn't grasp all of the symbolism. But the things that I did get were stunning. And I have to say- I'm so very glad I don't live in Flannery O'Conner's world even though it was absolutely fascinating to inhabit it for little snippets of time. The more I read the more addicted I became. Highly recommended- not particularly to the faint of heart and not if you're the happy-ending loving sort.