Flannery O'Connor

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'Connor's work.

The orphaned Francis Marion Tarwater and his cousin, Rayber, struggle to defy the prophecy of their dead uncle—that Tarwater will become a prophet and will baptize Rayber's young son, Bishop. As Tarwater fights