The Violent Bear It Away

By: Flannery O’ Connor

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

First published in 1960, The Violent Bear It Away is now a landmark in American literature. It is a dark and absorbing example of the gothic sensibility and bracing satirical voice that are united in Flannery O'Conner's work. In it, the orphaned Francis Marion Tarwater and his cousin, Rayber, defy the prophecy of their dead uncle - that Tarwater will become a prophet and will baptize Rayber's young son, Bishop. A series of struggles ensue, as Tarwater fights an internal battle against his innate faith and the voices calling him to be a prophet, while Rayber tries to draw Tarwater into a more “reasonable” modern world. Both wrestle with the legacy of their dead relatives and lay claim to Bishop's soul.

O'Connor observes all this with an astonishing combination of irony and compassion, humor and pathos. The result is a novel whose range and depth reveal a brilliant and innovative writer acutely alert to where the sacred lives and where it does not.

©1960 Flannery O'Connor (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“There is very little contemporary fiction which touches the level of Flannery O’Connor at her best.” ( New York Herald Tribune)

“I am sure her books will live on and on in American literature.” (Elizabeth Bishop, American poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner)

Coarse, gritty world I never want to know

Flannery Conner uncovers some of the ugly culture as a consequence of the unrooted, superstitious people of the American post-war era. The vulnerable bear the brunt of each man 's interpretation what he believes is being freed from perceived evils.

Trigger warnings - but also well read

Woooooof I was not expecting or prepared for something towards the end. Just. Trigger warnings all around.

That said, Mark Bramhall is INCREDIBLE and it was like listening to a Broadway play. He is so amazing, every character felt truthful and unique, and each and every of O'Conner's words felt significant in his voice.

Geat Book To check

I found out this book excellent. Check out all the review and then go for it.

Christian damnation

I listened to this for its literary merit and thankfully it's not too long. The story is uncomfortable to listen to. The reader is excellent.

Holy wow.

I am typically bored by literature that is too overtly influenced by the Christian faith/the Bible. Somehow, Flannery O'Connor has escaped such classification for me, and I am riveted by her, absolutely stunned: every time I read her, it feels like the first time I have encountered the idea of God. I liked Wise Blood, but The Violent Bear it Away is in a league of its own. This novel is so dark, and so unflinchingly intelligent and so surprising, and I wished it were 20 hours long instead of six. In fact, I listened to several chapters several times, not because they were difficult to follow, but because I was so amazed by her craft and its unfolding. It will be a difficult novel to follow-up.

Good, Strange

I loved this book early, then it bogged down. I did not care for the schoolteacher character, and I am probably not going to read any more O'Connor. This one had enough elements of unique, disturbing storytelling to be worth the time though. Picks back up at the end. Not sure what to say about it still- a bit of an exploration of the prophet "type" in modern society. And a story about manipulation. The characters are all trying to make the world like themselves, and especially the "hero". Never read a book like it, and that is really its best quality. The early chapters are much funnier than the book on the whole, and that tempered the subject in a way I liked. I laughed a lot at the old man, and I think one is supposed to.

Southern Literature at its Best

If you could sum up The Violent Bear It Away in three words, what would they be?

PiercingSardonicFierce

What did you like best about this story?

The depth and relationship among characters

Which scene was your favorite?

The many encounters between Tarwater and his uncle created a thread that was a scene in itself. The ambivalent relationship between the two characters-- actually shadows of one another--was both funny and poignant.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to listen, then digest and reflect before listening further.

Any additional comments?

Flannery O'Connor once said that the South is "Christ -haunted," and the religious motif is prevalent here. Her characters are both archetypal and personally compelling. This is classic Southern literature at its best--a book worth re-reading and discussing with others.

Superb!

A great classic with much wisdom regarding passion, religious fervor, prejudice, racism, and other issues. Well read, also.

Flannery O' Connor

I enjoy the works of Flannery O' Connor though I do prefer her shorter stories. The Violent Bear It Away is a bit all over the map at the beginning - past to present to even further in the past, etc - and can make for a confusing listen, but when this novel hits it stride somewhere in the middle the story flares. The narrator does a decent job bringing the story to life. I would suggest using your credit on A Good Man is Hard To Find or Everything That Rises Must Converge first.

Prophesies Alive in Life

Wow, so much in this book. Like a baptism into literature or God or there in between... I do not know. I am still recoiling from this grand narrative... patience less ye drown in the words ideas and passion...