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Audiobooks > Fiction >  Short Stories (single author) > A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories

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A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories Audiobook, by Flannery O’Connor Extended Sample Click for printable size audiobook cover
Author: Flannery O’Connor Narrator: Marguerite Gavin Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Format: Unabridged Audiobook Delivery: Instant Download Audio Length: Release Date: January 2006 ISBN: 9781455199877
4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 4.00 (15,728 ratings) (rate this audio book)
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This now classic book revealed Flannery O’Connor as one of the most original and provocative writers to emerge from the South. Her apocalyptic vision of life is expressed through grotesque, often comic situations in which the principal character faces a problem of salvation: the grandmother, in the title story, confronting the murderous Misfit; a neglected four-year-old boy looking for the Kingdom of Christ in the fast-flowing waters of the river; General Sash, about to meet the final enemy.

 Stories include:
“A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
“The River”
“The Life You Save May Be Your Own”
“A Stroke of Good Fortune”
“A Temple of the Holy Ghost”
“The Artificial Nigger”
“A Circle in the Fire”
“A Late Encounter with the Enemy”
“Good Country People”
“The Displaced Person”

This is the collection that established Flannery O’Connor’s reputation as a one of the American masters of the short story.

Download and start listening now!

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Quotes & Awards

  • “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.”

    New York Times Book Review

  • “I am sure her books will live on and on in American literature.”

    Elizabeth Bishop, Pulitzer Prize winner and poet laureate of the United States, 1949–1950

  • “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, Pulitzer Prize–winning poet

  • “With a keen eye for the dark side of human nature, an amazing ear for dialogue, and a necessary sense of irony, Flannery O’Connor exposes the underside of life in the rural south of the United States.”

    Holly Smith, 500 Great Books by Women

  • “A Good Man Is Hard to Find features some of Flannery O’Connor’s best short stories. Often associated with the term Southern gothic, O’Connor, a consummate master of the short story form, condenses character and meaning into gems of distinctive language. Narrator Marguerite Gavin flawlessly reproduces the dialogue of O’Connor’s American grotesques…Gavin gives each of these characters an authentic voice, not only by reproducing their speech accurately but also by conveying the complexity of seemingly straightforward characters caught in the tangled web of their own motivations.”

    AudioFile

Listener Reviews

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  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Cayleigh | 1/30/2014

    " I had to read this for a Literary Criticism and Theory course, and skimming it a few times, it didn't seem like there was anything too great about the short story. Only after I took a New Criticism view on it did the text fully come alive. I wrote primarily on the roles of Pitty-Sing (the cat) and The Misfit (murderer), two characters that when looked at in context with each other become a circle that explains the story quite well. The grandmother is also mentioned, but she is only a pawn in the "circle of life" as I called it. "

  • 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Geoff | 1/30/2014

    " Be careful which edition you buy, I wasn't and bought the wrong one. Expected it to be the collection of short stories bearing the same title. It wasn't, so only got the one tale surrounded by literary criticism. The story itself is very good, but definitely short and not enough to give me a full flavour. Will still have to check the collection though. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Teresa | 1/30/2014

    " A stunning collection of short stories about people receiving grace in spite of---or more often because of---their terrible flaws. Some are darkly comic, others are imbued with a gorgeous spirituality, and others are deeply ambiguous in their depictions of God, race, and life in U.S. South.[return][return]See my complete review at Shelf Love. "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Jonathan | 1/17/2014

    " O'Connor's collection of stories offers many depictions of the cruelty of children and the childishness of adults, with disastrous consequences resulting. Fear, shame, moral blindness, prejudice and the inability to escape random acts of violence are all key elements of these stories, and O'Connor paints these all too vividly. I especially enjoyed the story of the Displaced Person, with its poignant combination of humorous and tragic effects resulting from conflicting prejudices. "

  • 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Jeff | 12/22/2013

    " The first story, where a bunch of hicks get themselves into a situation that dumb people get themselves into, was okay. The second story, where hicks get into a dumb situation, was less interesting. The third story, some dumb hicks... well you get the picture. "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Gemma | 12/19/2013

    " Shocking, brilliant, irresistible. And rather deranged. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Bob | 12/16/2013

    " These short stories paint a picture of the southern U.S. in the immediate post-war period of the 1940s and early 1950s. I found the stories somewhat uneven - the title story is very well written, as is the last, but in between there are a few that are good and a few that are just ok. Focused on poor rural white and black farm people for the most part, the historical portrait is both revealing and disturbing. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Cory | 12/14/2013

    " I enjoyed this collection of stories "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Zach | 12/4/2013

    " Every page will surprise you. "

  • 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Katy | 12/3/2013

    " Nah. Weird. I have no idea where she was going with this whole grace thing. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Colleen | 11/21/2013

    " My favorite short story author. Goodies. "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Nathan | 9/28/2013

    " An excellent short story (A Good Man) on how to create unbearable tension by showing very little. One of my favorites. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Julie | 8/28/2013

    " Stories can become a bit redundant in regards to religious themes but hold a lot of social weight. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Samantha | 8/24/2013

    " I don't know why I thought that these short stories would entertain me more than they did. O'Connor is surprisingly dark and while I enjoyed that aspect, I just couldn't get into the religious themes. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Courtney | 7/25/2013

    " I love Flannery O'Connor, and there were several stories in this collection that I hadn't read. Plus, the title story gets better every time I read it. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Whitaker | 6/15/2013

    " A really great book shows us how everything is great and worth to die for "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Ed | 5/24/2013

    " I read one of these stories in jail and then I cried. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Nicolas | 4/28/2013

    " Favourite Story: The Displaced Person "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Carolyn | 10/25/2011

    " Amen. Really good stuff. So unsettling it makes my innards wiggle. Ew. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Kt | 6/3/2011

    " I had to read this for my English class and I really liked it~ It is one of those stories where if only they had done this, or done that, things would have been alright. Entertaining to say the least. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Leah | 5/22/2011

    " o'connor has recently become one of my favourite authors. i am in love with her work. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Aj | 5/17/2011

    " Beautifully, and sparsely written. The stories lend themselves to the bleaker aspects of the human condition but it is treated with a bit of humor. Wonderful stories. "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Sandra | 5/5/2011

    " How can you beat Flannery O'Connor? "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Sandra | 4/24/2011

    " This is my all time favorite collection of short stories.

    Yes that means more than The Catcher in the Rye. "

  • 1 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 51 out of 5 Ginia | 4/18/2011

    " In my quest to read great writers I came upon A Good Man is Hard to Find. It was not what I was expecting, compared to other southen fiction, and I wish I could erase it from memory. A very disturbing story. Moving on. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Milkman3367 | 4/17/2011

    " 'The Displaced Person' is the jewel in this otherwise decent collection of short stories. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Nel | 4/16/2011

    " Once I adjusted to the slightly jarring rhythm of the stories, they became bizarrely captivating. My favorites were "Good Country People" and "The Displaced Person". "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Maria | 4/11/2011

    " Brilliantly written short stories. Guy de Maupassantish, very dark, twisted. Full of fury, each short story is a gem. "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Zach | 4/5/2011

    " Every page will surprise you. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Elle | 4/4/2011

    " Um, I'm just adding this because I read "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and wanted to remember never to read it again. What the hell. "

  • 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Dri | 4/2/2011

    " I could only read two of her short stories. Why is this book so popular? "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Michael | 3/27/2011

    " A Good Man Is Hard to Find - great "

About the Author

Flannery O’Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1925. She was awarded the Best of the National Book Awards for Fiction in 2009, and she was the first fiction writer born in the twentieth century to have her works collected and published by the Library of America. When she died at the age of thirty-nine, America lost one of its most gifted writers at the height of her powers.

About the Narrator

Marguerite Gavin is a seasoned theater veteran, a five-time nominee for the prestigious Audie Award, and the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones and Publishers Weekly awards. She has been an actor, director, and audiobook narrator for her entire professional career. With over four hundred titles to her credit, her narration spans nearly every genre, from nonfiction to mystery, science fiction, fantasy, romance, and children’s fiction. AudioFile magazine says, “Marguerite Gavin…has a sonorous voice, rich and full of emotion.”