Dark but excellent
Fourteen-year-old Francis Marion Tarwater has been raised by his great-uncle Mason Tarwater, a backwoods prophet. Mason keeps young Tarwater on a fairly straight-and-narrow path, at least according to his version of the straight and narrow. However, when Mason dies, a "stranger" appears in young Tarwater's mind with a point of view very different from Mason's. He suggests that Tarwater ignore Mason's burial wishes and go live his own life. There are only two things that Tarwater can do with his life, after all, says the stranger. "Jesus or the devil," Tarwater responds. The stranger contradicts him: "No no no...there ain't no such thing as a devil. I can tell you that from my own self-experience. I know that for a fact. It ain't Jesus or the devil. It's Jesus or you." Tarwater listens, drinks himself into a stupor, and then attempts to burn Mason's body along with their house. Finally he hitchhikes to a distant town where his uncle Rayber, an atheistic schoolteacher, lives.
Though living in defiance of his religious upbringing, Tarwater instantly sees the staleness of Rayber's city-bred atheism and reacts by despising Rayber along with Rayber's retarded son Bishop. His dislike of Bishop, however, is a result of Mason's prediction that Tarwater's first mission will be to baptize the child. He sees himself in Bishop's empty eyes, "trudging into the distance in the bleeding stinking mad shadow of Jesus....The Lord out of dust had created him...and set him in a world of loss and fire all to baptize on idiot child that He need not have created in the first place and to cry out a gospel just as foolish." But Tarwater is incapable of shrugging off his calling. Eventually he decides that he will free himself by destroying it and doing as the stranger, whom he eventually calls a friend, suggests. I will refrain from describing exactly what happens so as not to spoil the plot for any potential readers, but suffice it to say that Tarwater fulfills Mason's prophecy almost by accident.
Rebelling even more, Tarwater deserts Rayber and attempts to hitchhike back to Mason's homestead. But the second man he rides with, an odd-looking fellow with violet eyes who drives a lavender and cream-colored car, turns out to be a predator. Wanting to appear tough, Tarwater accepts the whiskey the man offers him, not knowing that it has been spiked. The man victimizes the unconscious Tarwater off-stage in a secluded patch of woods and abandons him. Upon waking, Tarwater is furious, and he recognizes that his "friend" and the predator are one and the same person--the devil. (If you doubt whether they are the same, watch the color imagery carefully. The color purple characterizes the predator and eventually Tarwater's "friend.")
As a Catholic herself, O'Connor is not intending to criticize or mock religion by the extremism of her characters; instead she draws a larger-than-life portrait so that modern eyes, clouded by humanism, postmodernism, and several other "isms," cannot gloss over her message. The dominant theme of "The Violent Bear It Away" is revealed by Tarwater's "friend" in the original exchange just after Mason's death: there are only two paths in life, Jesus or the devil. And the devil intends to destroy us. Living for self is a mere illusion.
I couldn't have said it better.
her best story...?
I'm sure, if you are looking at this, you have read O'Connor, but if you have not read this, well, this just might be her best work. Sorry, I know this is supposed to be a review, but what can you say about her characters that does them any sort of justice?
Wow. Incredibly Thought Provoking
It is almost impossible to review this book without giving too much away. The book seems to have been written in three stages. The first stage is a humorous back story which sets the scene. The middle part reveals that these are real characters, and their seemingly humorous actions now have serious and sometimes heartbreaking consequences. The end of the story totally turns everything proceeding it on its head. At the end of the book, the reader will come to a startling and somewhat shocking realization. This book is such a strong mix of humor, horror, hopelessness and hope, that I don't think there is anything else quite like it. This beautiful book is bizarre in that it mixes feelings of dread and despair with such hope. What a powerful read.
Astounding work from a master
I am in awe of Flannery O'Connor. After studying her in college, I finally sat down to read this novel and was captivated the entire time. I just saw a screening of the movie No Country For Old Men, a film that really reminded me of O'Connor, specifically the short story A Good Man is Hard To Find, which got me thinking again about how much I love her writing. O'Connor has a unique tone to her writing, and it's one that really speaks to me as a reader. The plot was fascinating and had several truly memorable scenes that are haunting and sad, yet her work has a darkly comic tone through much of the novel. Impossible to resist! I would suggest this novel to anyone who is a fan of great fiction and I plan on reading as many of her works as possible.
Good story
The book reads with less action then the current style of writing. Her writing is excellent.
(26 reviews)
