The Complete Stories of Flannery O'ConnorThe Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor
Score Classic
What it's about
This collection gathers all thirty-one of Flannery O'Connor's short stories, set mostly in the rural Georgia of the 1940s and '50s. A family on a road trip meets an escaped convict. A con man posing as a Bible salesman steals a woman's wooden leg. A self-satisfied churchgoer receives a vision in a hog pen. O'Connor fills her stories with prideful, comic, often grotesque characters, and almost every one ends with a violent moment that forces someone to see themselves clearly.
Why it's worth reading
It won the National Book Award after O'Connor's death at thirty-nine, and is among the most important story collections in American literature. The stories are funny, shocking and unlike anything else.
You'll love it if you liked
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
The Sound and the Fury
The Stories of John CheeverGood to know
The stories include racial slurs typical of their time and place, and violence. Start with "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and "Good Country People."
By the numbers
- Readers96 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics63 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller16 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Thought-provoking
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Quick answers
Is The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor worth reading?
Yes. It won the National Book Award after O'Connor's death at thirty-nine, and is among the most important story collections in American literature. It ranks #221 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 83.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor about?
This collection gathers all thirty-one of Flannery O'Connor's short stories, set mostly in the rural Georgia of the 1940s and '50s. A family on a road trip meets an escaped convict. A con man posing as a Bible salesman steals a woman's wooden leg. A self-satisfied churchgoer receives a vision in a hog pen. O'Connor fills her stories with prideful, comic, often grotesque characters, and almost every one ends with a violent moment that forces someone to see themselves clearly.
How long does it take to read The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor?
About 14 hours (555 pages), or about 4 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor won?
National Book Award (Fiction) winner (1972).
What should I read after The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor?
If you liked it, try The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner or The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever.