O'Connor's first novel, Wise Blood, received hostile reviews when it first appeared in 1952; most readers missed the dark humor and religious intent of the highly unconventional novel. By 1960, O'Connor had earned something of a reputation for her short stories. Critics were more forgiving in their remarks about The Violent Bear It Away. However, few reviews were outright favorable, and most readers expressed confusion at the author's intent and took exception to the seeming anti-Catholic determinism in the novel, although most commended O'Connor's finely crafted prose. Sumner J. Ferris, for example, writing in Critique, praised the excellent construction of the novel, but maintained that because of its theme and locale, the author's spiritual vision would not be taken seriously and, further, that O'Connor "will never be considered anything but a Southern woman novelist."
After O'Connor.....
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