Flannery O'Connor's short stories have been described as "a wonderful amalgam of violence, unexpected juxtapositions, and religion" (USAirways magazine, June 2010)."A Good Man is Hard to Find" is one of her most unforgettable tales: it's the story of a horrible family vacation that has gone horribly wrong. Weary parents, two whiny and bratty children, and their obnoxious grandmother have been packed into a small car for too long. A minor accident on a back country road provokes an unexpected encounter with The Misfit, a convicted murderer who has escaped from a nearby prison.
Ominous and darkly comic, here's one of my favorite lines from the story: "She would of been a good woman...if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life."
Although I'm more naturally drawn to reading novels, stories like these remind me of the peculiar power of short stories: like light focused through a magnifying glass, they can be concentrated, powerful illuminations that burn themselves into both heart and mind.
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