A family goes on a roadtrip hollyday, taking old Grandma Everygranny with them. There’s also a serial killer called The Misfit on the loose. But they couldn’t possibly run into him - after all this story’s called An Unhinged Evil Serial Killer is Hard to Find - riiiiight….. /??
This was absolutely great! Flannery O’Connor’s writing and storytelling is so on point that if the story was simply a quirky old lady and her family go on a trip across the south, I’d’ve still been satisfied. But things take a very, very, very dark - and unexpected - turn towards the end which tipped it over the top for me.
I loved all of it. The characterisation is brilliant. The grandma subtly and not so subtly manipulates her son’s family to do her bidding, the kids’ voices are convincing, the restaurant owner’s voice is distinctly Southern and The Misfit is chillingly bleak, in stark contrast to the warmth of the family on vacation. Their names are great too - John Wesley, June Star, Red Sam - and you get a strong sense of Southern culture.
As soon as the grandma convinces her son to drive them down a dirt road though the unease builds and builds so superbly. And when things go completely to hell, it was masterful of O’Connor to have the horrors happen off the page rather than explicitly tell the reader what’s going on - it makes the events that much more shocking.
A Good Man is Hard to Find reminded me of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery for the total U-turn in tone with that final scene. The story is like a distilled and immensely potent mix of Shirley Jackson and Cormac McCarthy - an amazing example of Southern Gothic and a thoroughly impressive piece. Bravo, Flannery O’Connor!
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