
The Violent Bear It Away
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Narrated by:
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Mark Bramhall
About this listen
First published in 1960, The Violent Bear It Away is now a landmark in American literature. It is a dark and absorbing example of the gothic sensibility and bracing satirical voice that are united in Flannery O'Conner's work. In it, the orphaned Francis Marion Tarwater and his cousin, Rayber, defy the prophecy of their dead uncle - that Tarwater will become a prophet and will baptize Rayber's young son, Bishop. A series of struggles ensue, as Tarwater fights an internal battle against his innate faith and the 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 relatives and lay claim to Bishop's soul.
O'Connor observes all this with an astonishing combination of irony and compassion, humor and pathos. The result is a novel whose range and depth reveal a brilliant and innovative writer acutely alert to where the sacred lives and where it does not.
©1960 Flannery O'Connor (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Critic reviews
Brilliant and absorbing.
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Brilliantly evocative
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Resist destiny at your peril!
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This book was just utterly sensational.
A young boy is caught between religion and secularism. Between what is felt and known and what can be learned and known. Between what has been laid out for him and what he can choose for himself.
Madness. The bleak horror of living as a being capable of knowing. Being aware of mortality. Of sin. Condemned by that awareness.
Everything in this book is stained with rancour. You're a spirit with a bird's view of things. Vulture like. The world slowed to allow each thought and feeling the characters have to be teased out and examined intimately. Almost like a divine violation.
Maybe this isn't for everyone. It takes a certain type of person to enjoy this type of writing. It is southern gothic at its finest. Irredeemably cruel and vicious.
But it has a message. It makes its point.
If you've not had a religious upbringing, it might be a little inaccessible. I think that if you're not in a similar position to Tarwater (flavoured by the rational and the religious) you'll have an uphill battle on your hands.
But my god... For me... This short book spoke to me! It will go on as a lifetime favourite.
performance flawless story spectacular
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honestly astounding
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First time Flannery O'connor experience
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Takes your breath away
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Relentlessly Depressing
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