Wow. I am struggling to know what to say about this collection of short stories. Apparently, this is the book that "established Flannery O'Connor as a master of the short story and one of the most original and provocative writers to emerge from the South." There is no doubt that she is a talented writer. Her character descriptions are painfully vivid. There are no beautiful people in her stories for sure! Most are unhappy, dissatisfied, negative and ugly, inside and out.
I don't think I have read a book of short stories since I left college. I'm not sure I will be jumping at the chance to do it again either. There are 10 stories in this book and most of them end in death. Not happy, peaceful deaths either. They were pretty dang depressing. There is not one single character in this collection that I could even remotely identify with or would ever want to meet.
If I had to choose my "favorite" story, I guess I would choose The Displaced Person. This story was made into a TV movie in 1977. It is the story of a once-widowed, twice divorced woman, Mrs. McIntyre, trying to keep her farm afloat on her own. She has slaves as well as white (lower class) people working for her. The rhythm of the farm is upset when she takes in a "displaced family" from Poland, who escaped the horrors of World War II. The father of the displaced family, Mr. Guizac, is a hard worker and knows how to operate all of the farm machinery. He is a huge asset to the farm, but his presence puts the white "caretakers" and slaves' employment statuses at risk. Mrs. McIntyre can't afford to pay Mr. Guizac more money without letting someone else go. This would be a legitimate concern for any Southern woman trying to make it on her own in the deep south in the 1940's, especially when she discovers that Mr. Guizac wants one of her young slaves to marry his (white) cousin. Alas, the story ends tragically, as they all do, but at least I understood the message.
My least favorite would probably be the title story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, but not by much! All I can say about it is that it was tragic, depressing and I am not sure what the intent of the story was. Don't stray off the beaten path? Beware of strangers? Don't listen to your mother? Or, maybe, listen to your mother and go to East Tennessee rather than Florida! Ha!
Sorry, this just wasn't my cup of tea, no matter how talented the author is.
Wendy's Rating: ***
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