A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories

Flannery O'Connor's first short story collection, written in 1955, will knock you off your feet. Ruthless, penetrating, and loaded with subtext, A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories was brave for its time and feels just as consequential today. Writing in the Southern Gothic tradition in a style wholly her own, O'Connor creates characters that are misguided, stunted curiosities, but she manages to capture what's human in even the most despicable of people — which makes their doomed trajectories feel all the more tragic. And despite the disturbing events that unfold, the stories are a pleasure to read — they're infused with suspense, dark humor, and some of the most evocative imagery you'll encounter in literature. All this makes for a collection that never ceases to amaze — and begs to be reread. Recommended By Renee P., Powells.com

ONE OF THE GREATEST AMERICAN SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS

In 1955, with this short story collection, Flannery O'Connor firmly laid claim to her place as one of the most original and provocative writers of her generation. Steeped in a Southern Gothic tradition that would become synonymous with her name, these stories show O'Connor's unique, grotesque view of life — infused with religious symbolism, haunted by apocalyptic possibility, sustained by the tragic comedy of human behavior, confronted by the necessity of salvation.

With these classic stories — including "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," "Good Country People," "The Displaced Person," and seven other acclaimed tales — O'Connor earned a permanent place in the hearts of American readers.

"O'Connor's works, like Maupassant's, are characterized by precision, density, and an almost alarming circumscription....In these stories the rural South is, for the first time, viewed by a writer whose orthodoxy matches her talent. The results are revolutionary." The New York Times Book Review

"Much savagery, compassion, farce, art, and truth have gone into these stories. O'Connor's characters are wholeheartedly horrible, and almost better than life. I find it hard to think of a funnier or more frightening writer." Robert Lowell, author of Life Studies

The collection that established O'Connor's reputation as one of the american masters of the short story. The volume contains the celebrated title story, a tale of the murderous fugitive "The Misfit," as well as "The Displaced Person" and eight other stories.

Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964) was born in Savannah, Georgia. She earned her M.F.A. at the University of Iowa, but lived most of her life in the South, where she became an anomaly among post-World War II authors — a Roman Catholic woman whose stated purpose was to reveal the mystery of God's grace in everyday life. Her work — novels, short stories, letters, and criticism — received a number of awards, including the National Book Award.