Dark and clever, nobody gets at the human soul quite like Flannery O'Connor. She is slyly funny and grim all at once. I highly recommend a read through all her stories, though don't expect to fall asleep when you do. There are some real eye-openers in here. ( )

This collection of Flannery O'Connor's stories revealed not only the common themes and style of O'Connor's writing (themes like freedom/free will, her use of sarcastic humor, the use of physical deformities to symbolize certain characteristics, etc.) but also her growth as a writer, from her writings as a student at the University of Iowa, until her death twenty years later. There is a sense in which perhaps O'Connor stories might be better enjoyed individually (some of her later writings are re-writes of her earlier works), but there was also value in reading these stories as a large group. I'd love to spend more time reading these stories and discussing them with fellow readers. ( )

This collection of Flannery O'Connor's stories revealed not only the common themes and style of O'Connor's writing (themes like freedom/free will, her use of sarcastic humor, the use of physical deformities to symbolize certain characteristics, etc.) but also her growth as a writer, from her writings as a student at the University of Iowa, until her death twenty years later. There is a sense in which perhaps O'Connor stories might be better enjoyed individually (some of her later writings are re-writes of her earlier works), but there was also value in reading these stories as a large group. I'd love to spend more time reading these stories and discussing them with fellow readers. ( )