Everything That Rises Must Converge

De: Flannery O’Connor

Narrado por: Bronson Pinchot, Karen White, Mark Bramhall, Lorna Raver

This collection of nine short stories by Flannery O'Connor was published posthumously in 1965. The flawed characters of each story are fully revealed in apocalyptic moments of conflict and violence that are presented with comic detachment.

The title story is a tragicomedy about social pride, racial bigotry, generational conflict, false liberalism, and filial dependence. The protagonist, Julian Chestny, is hypocritically disdainful of his mother's prejudices, but his smug selfishness is replaced with childish fear when she suffers a fatal stroke after being struck by a black woman she has insulted out of oblivious ignorance rather than malice.

Similarly, “The Comforts of Home” is about an intellectual son with an Oedipus complex. Driven by the voice of his dead father, the son accidentally kills his sentimental mother in an attempt to murder a harlot.

The other stories are “A View of the Woods”, “Parker's Back”, “The Enduring Chill”, “Greenleaf”, “The Lame Shall Enter First”, “Revelation”, and “Judgment Day”.

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.

©1956 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965; renewed 1993 by the Estate of Mary Flannery O’Connor (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“The current volume of posthumous stories is the work of a master, a writer's writer—but a reader's too—an incomparable craftsman who wrote, let it be said, some of the finest stories in our language." ( Newsweek)

“All in all they comprise the best collection of shorter fiction to have been published in America during the past twenty years.” ( Book Week)

“When I read Flannery O'Connor, I do not think of Hemingway, or Katherine Anne Porter, or Sartre, but rather of someone like Sophocles. What more can you say for a writer? I write her name with honor, for all the truth and all the craft with which she shows man's fall and his dishonor.” (Thomas Merton)

mixed review

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

yes. i enjoyed most of the listens

Would you recommend Everything That Rises Must Converge to your friends? Why or why not?

maybe. if in converstion

What aspect of the narrators’s performance would you have changed?

two narrators kept the interest and two did not

Was Everything That Rises Must Converge worth the listening time?

yes. the stories were entertaining lessons. i felt bored by some

One ripping good yarn after another

I enjoyed Ms O'Connor's short stories as much or more than I've ever enjoyed any short stories. This is a challenging read because there is so much symbolism and depth to her writing. I advise using online resources such as cliffs and sparknotes so the reader doesn't miss anything. Be aware that Ms O'Connor's pen is cruel and prose is very biting. Her stories have quite a bit of "kick" to them. I'll definitely be reading more from her.

Must Have!

What made the experience of listening to Everything That Rises Must Converge the most enjoyable?

Listening to a Flannery O'Connor story is as enjoyable as reading one.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Mother. She was strong-willed in her determination, even if her view of society was wrong and outdated.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the mother had her stroke, totally unpredictable and shocking.

Well done

The various voices for the different stories were spot on! It added to the listening experience and help the stories to not only come alive but, stick with me long after the audio ended.

Bringing Life to the Grotesque in Southern Goth

I bought and read Flanner O'Connor's complete works a long time ago and really enjoyed reading the books. I really enjoyed the audio version of "Everything that Rises Must Converge" even more than the books themselves. Somehow the narration in this series really made the stories come to life in a way that did not happen when I was reading the books. The incantation, the accents, the play in the different voices it all came together perfectly. Somehow, as the stories were being read to me on my walks, I was hit with even deeper understanding of the stories than I had before. I highly recommend this recording to those who are interested in the work of Flannery O'Connor. You will not be disappointed.
Flannery O'Connor was a devout Christian, and her stories reflect her faith in one way or another, in some stories it is more blatant than in others, but all the stories are wonderful for their grotesque characters struggling through everyday life. Most of them deal with the social upheaval in the Mid Twentieth Century South. And with that backdrop she begins in Southern Goth style to lampoon popular notions of Christianity, the notions held by many Christians themselves, but then she also effectively lampoons positions that are seen as intellectually superior to Christianity too. Really quite a masterful work of fiction.