Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor

• Release Date: 1965
• Author: Flannery O'Connor
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Farrar Straus and Giroux

Flannery O’Connor was working on “Everything That Rises Must Converge” at the time of her death. This collection is an exquisite legacy from a genius of the American short story, in which she scrutinizes territory familiar to her readers: race, faith, and morality. The stories encompass the comic and the tragic, the beautiful and the grotesque; each carries her highly individual stamp and could have been written by no one else.
MY REVIEW
Well I tell you one thing she can write. This woman was of exceptional cleverness and writes of characters of her era and ones that live around us now. She writes of the human condition and the darkness of the heart. These stories have some humour thrown in, she tries to give us a view of how we behave and how insanely stupid and careless we can be. How love blinds and evil destroys, how good can only prosper.
She writes of parenthood, guilt, obsession, control freaks, the sick, the despondent, vengeance, redemption, compassion and love.
She has been said to be a catholic writer and mentions God and Jesus and themes of redemption. She does not throw it down your throat but adds light on how people behave.
There are a few stories here that that have characters who behave in a fascist manner and used words, N words, that readers might find offensive. The only reason, her being a catholic, in writing with these words and characters can only be to shock and show the reader how one could look like from the outside.
She was capable of so much more, died at a young age of 39 due to Lupus. A gifted writer on the horror and joys of our behavior as people.
Think of some of Stephen Kings stories but realistically told.

I listened to this on audiobook via audible and was really a wonderful listen, it had quite a few voices with southern accents that added to making it enjoyable and easy listening. I am also going to read these again in another book where she includes them and others a completed works on ebook [book:The Complete Stories|2547865] . Once I have read that edition I will give a breakdown of each story.
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