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A Good Man Is Hard To Find and The Life You Save May Be Your Own were 5-star reads. In general, I liked all of the stories minus the ones that later went on to be part of Wise Blood, which I have to admit, I wasn't really all that fond of. I think had I read this collection more slowly, over large periods of time, I might have liked it more. It's a bit intense and depressing to read all at once, but so far that's just how I read on my Kindle. I found it interesting to compare The Geranium and Judgement Day, since they begin and end the collection and have the same plot outline - but the latter is far more grim. Overall, I feel like I learned quite a lot about a specific time period in the South that I know little about and enjoyed doing so, though at the end I felt a bit like I was just trying to plow through to the end.

Read: 3/8/2014
Rating: 3 stars
Review: A collection of short stories by Flannery O'Connor, often violent with Southern themes of racism and religion. The flawed characters populate almost every story and most end violently. The author writes well therefore I give it 3.5 stars. I listened to the audible edition read by several narrators. They did a good job of making these stories "Southern".

Everything That Rises Must Converge: The title of the book and first story. This story is of a college graduate who lives with his mother because he can’t make enough to live on his own. Violence.
The title Everything That Rises Must Converge refers to a work by the French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin titled the "Omega Point": "Remain true to yourself, but move ever upward toward greater consciousness and greater love! At the summit you will find yourselves united with all those who, from every direction, have made the same ascent. For everything that rises must converge.
Greenleaf: a woman owns a farm. Mr Greenleaf works for her but she feels he is worthless but her own sons will not help with the farm. They are lazy and disrespectful. Mr. Greenleaf’s sons bull keeps coming on her property and she wants Mr. Greenleaf to kill the bull. Violent ending.
A View Of The Woods: A grandfather owns land and keeps selling it. His youngest granddaughter is his favorite and he thinks she is just like him until he sells the ‘lawn��. Violent.
The Enduring Chill: a son who has been living in NYC returns to his mother’s home to die of what he is sure is a fatal illness. He really is a son who has failed to be what he had aspired to be. This one is not so violent, somewhat funny conclusion.
The Comforts Of Home: another man living with his mother. She brings home a juvenile delinquent girl. Son is angry, wants her removed from the home. Violent ending.
The Lame Shall Enter First: A widowed man and his young son who has not gotten over the death of his mother. This man spends time on other delinquent boys and neglects the needs of his own son. Sad violent ending.
Revelation: woman gets beat up by another girl in the doctor’s waiting room. This story is about seeing society through our own prejudices. Interesting story.
Parker's Back: A man with an obsession to get tattoos
Judgement Day: Old man goes North to live with his daughter. Tries to treat a Northern black man like he treats blacks in the South. This ends violently. Tanner just wants to get back South alive or dead.

O’Connor states this about her writing; "All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it, but most people think of these stories as hard, hopeless and brutal."—Flannery O'Connor
I look forward to reading more by O’Connor. Short story is not my favorite format but her writing is good, though violent and characters are flawed. Ms O’Connor was a faithful Roman Catholic.

I enjoyed the book despite the fact that the stories are incredibly depressing. That is not necessarily what O'Connor intended; she once wrote, "All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it." Still, she went on to admit, "...most people think of these stories as hard, hopeless and brutal." I would agree. Despite moments of humor and her great descriptions of people and places, the stories are almost all tragic in some way.

I would have given it 4 stars were it not for the blatant racism of almost every story. Apparently, O'Connor's views on race were complicated and often contradictory. Regardless of the fact that she often seems to be trying to criticize racists (and classists), almost every story is full old-fashioned bigotry.

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