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A review by kevin_shepherd
The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O'Connor
4.0
Hillbilly Sophistry
In a way, Flannery O'Connor strikes me as a Catholic version of Erskine Caldwell; by that I mean that they both infused their stories with abject poverty and fanatical religiosity. Much like ‘Tobacco Road’ (Caldwell, 1932), ‘The Violent Bear It Away’ (O’Connor, 1960) is replete with racist derelicts who are also pious zealots. Both books are chock full o’ bumpkins, hicks and hayseeds; the subtle difference being that O’Connor’s novel is set in Tennessee and Caldwell’s is set in Georgia.
By all accounts Flannery O’Connor was spiritually devout, but her portrayals of Christianity are not at all flattering; the perpetrators of violence, arson, rape and murder within these pages are christians (albeit protestants, not catholics). The creation and publication of such allegorical characters, especially in 1960, was arguably audacious and incredibly gutsy. 4 stars.
In a way, Flannery O'Connor strikes me as a Catholic version of Erskine Caldwell; by that I mean that they both infused their stories with abject poverty and fanatical religiosity. Much like ‘Tobacco Road’ (Caldwell, 1932), ‘The Violent Bear It Away’ (O’Connor, 1960) is replete with racist derelicts who are also pious zealots. Both books are chock full o’ bumpkins, hicks and hayseeds; the subtle difference being that O’Connor’s novel is set in Tennessee and Caldwell’s is set in Georgia.
By all accounts Flannery O’Connor was spiritually devout, but her portrayals of Christianity are not at all flattering; the perpetrators of violence, arson, rape and murder within these pages are christians (albeit protestants, not catholics). The creation and publication of such allegorical characters, especially in 1960, was arguably audacious and incredibly gutsy. 4 stars.