Flannery O’Connor’s novel, The Violent Bear it Away (1960)
First published in 1960, The Violent Bear it Away is a landmark in American literature—a dark and absorbing example of the Gothic sensibility and bracing satirical voice that are united in Flannery O’Connor’s work.
In O’Connor’s second and final novel, the orphaned Francis Marion Tarwater and his cousin, the schoolteacher Rayber, defy the prophecy of their dead uncle that Tarwater will become a prophet and baptize young Rayber’s son, Bishop. A series of struggles ensues as Tarwater fights an internal battle against his innate faith and the voices calling him to be prophet while Rayber tries to draw Tarwater into a more “reasonable” modern world. Both wrestle with the legacy of their dead relative and lay claim to Bishop’s soul. All this is observed by Flannery O’Connor with an astonishing combination of irony and compassion, humor and pathos.
—From the back cover of the Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2007 paperback edition (now available at Accent on Books).
Meeting times and locations:
- Monday, August 22, 7 p.m., the first floor Conference Room of the Warner Building
- Monday, August 29, 7 p.m., the first floor Conference Room of the Warner Building
Where can I purchase this book?
Copies of The Violent Bear It Away are now available at Accent on Books, on Merrimon Avenue, at discounted price, thanks to parishioner, Lewis Sorrells.
The All Souls Book Group is the nucleus of the Kay Falk Literary Project, which is centered at the Cathedral as part of its teaching mission. For more information, please contact Emilie White at etwhite8@charter.net.