A brilliant, innovative novel, acutely alert to where the sacred lives--and wher
e it does not
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 thi
s, O'Connor's second novel, the orphaned Francis Marion Tarwater and his cousin,
the schoolteacher Rayber, defy the prophecy of their dead uncle that Tarwater w
ill become a prophet and baptize Rayber's young son, Bishop. A series of struggl
es ensues, as Tarwater fights an internal battle against his innate faith and th
e 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 relat
ive and lay claim to Bishop's soul. All this is observed by O'Connor with an ast
onishing combination of irony and compassion, humor and pathos.
