Seize by Force
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Summary
First published in 1960, The Violent Bear It Away is a landmark in American literary history—a dark and enthralling exemplar of Flannery O'Connor's work, in which Gothic sensibility and a sharp satiric voice are fused.
In the novel, the orphan Tarwater and his uncle Rayber defy the prophecy of their dead great-uncle: that Tarwater will become a prophet and will baptize Rayber's son Bishop. Tarwater wages an inner struggle against his deep-rooted faith and the voice calling him to become a prophet, while Rayber tries to lead Tarwater toward a more "reasonable" modern world. Both are grappling with the legacy of departed kin. Observing it all, O'Connor combines irony with compassion and humor with pathos in a way that is breathtaking.
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who love American Southern literature and the Gothic style
- Those interested in the conflict between faith, vocation, and modernity
- Readers willing to read slowly and savor irony and symbolism
- Those who need a novel of intellectual weight as serious reading material
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting a light, brisk read with a smooth plot
- Those averse to religious discussion and a dark atmosphere
- Readers who prefer realistic plain description and dislike symbolism and irony
Reading tips
- Read through once to grasp the character relationships, then revisit how the great-uncle's prophecy corresponds to Tarwater's struggles.
- Pay attention to the irony in Rayber and Tarwater's dialogue, and mark passages that make you uncomfortable or confused.
- After finishing, read it alongside O'Connor's short stories to appreciate her consistent approach to themes of faith.
- Read one or two chapters a day and leave time to reflect, avoiding the pursuit of speed that makes you miss details.
About the publisher
Shanghai Translation Publishing House is a Chinese publisher oriented mainly toward translation and publishing. Its publications cover foreign literature, world classics and classic works, as well as social culture, folk literature and classical poetry. The database contains 2,618 titles, including Never Let Me Go, Les Misérables (2 volumes), Don Quixote (illustrated collector's edition), The Complete Comedies of Molière (4 volumes), The Complete Novels of Kafka (3 volumes), The Collected Works of Dostoevsky (9-volume set), Reason and Persons, and Oedipus Rex (Translation Classics). Its author resources include foreign writers such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Victor Hugo, Cervantes and Molière, as well as translators such as Zheng Kelu, Sun Jiameng, Li Jianwu and Zhang Kun. The publisher has brands such as "Translation Classics Selections" and "Translation Documentary," and emphasizes translated works in foreign literature and the humanities and social sciences, while also publishing bilingual dictionaries and foreign-language educational books. Public information is limited; the above is based on the book information in the database.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 第一部分
- 第一章（上）
- 第一章（下）
- 第二章
- 第三章
- 第二部分
- 第四章
- 第五章
- 第六章
- 第七章
- 第八章
- 第九章
- 第三部分
- 第十章
- 第十一章
- 第十二章
FAQ
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About the author
Flannery O’Connor is an important writer in American Southern literature. Her dates of birth and death and a complete biography are not clearly established in the available records, and public information is limited. Her works are mostly set in the American South and often use grotesque characters, sudden violence, and conflicts of faith to reveal the darkness of human nature and the possibility of redemption, in a cold, satirical style with a strong religious dimension. The collection includes nine of her works, with representative titles such as A Good Man Is Hard to Find, Everything That Rises Must Converge, Wise Blood, The Violent Bear It Away, The Geranium, and The Displaced Person, as well as a Chinese-English bilingual edition of A Good Man Is Hard to Find. Classified under foreign literature, these works include both short stories and novels, with eccentric characters, abrupt plots, and restrained language, presenting the tension between morality and faith amid the absurd and the everyday, and exerting a profound influence on later Southern literature and short-story writing.
Zhang Qun is an author whose publicly available personal information is limited, and whose signed works show a notably cross-domain range of subjects. Four of his works are held in the collection, including foreign literary works such as Qiangli Duoqu and Lavelstein, as well as financial and data-related titles such as The Fourth Wave and A Guide to Data Asset Valuation. This combination suggests that his writing and editorial work may span both literary translation and financial practice, and the common categories are accordingly listed as "foreign literature" and "finance." Because his birth and death years, nationality, education, and professional experience cannot be confirmed, it is currently difficult to outline his full biography; judgments can only be based on the works themselves: he pays attention to foreign novels with strong narrative qualities while also addressing practical economic issues such as data assets. Readers who wish to learn more about him will need further public information.
