Ninety-Nine Novels: Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor

In 1984, Anthony Burgess published Ninety-Nine Novels, a selection of his favourite novels in English since 1939. The list is typically idiosyncratic, and shows the breadth of Burgess's interest in fiction. This podcast, by the International Anthony Burgess Foundation, explores the novels on Burgess's list with the help of writers, critics and other special guests. In this episode, Will Carr of the Burgess Foundation talks to writer and academic Alison Arant about Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor. Published in 1952, Wise Blood is Flannery O’Connor’s first novel and shows many of the themes that would come to characterise her short but extraordinary career. Set in the American South, and dealing with a cast of grotesques, it is a novel of complex religious themes and has come to be known as a classic of twentieth century literature. Alison Arant is Associate Professor and Chair of the English Department at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. Her research focusses on the American South, African American literature and women’s literature. Her most recent publication is Reconsidering Flannery O’Connor, which she edited with Jordan Colfer. This collection examines new theoretical approaches to O’Connor’s work and interrogates established views of her fiction and legacy. It is available now from the University Press of Mississippi. ------- BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: By Flannery O'Connor: Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose (1957) Everything That Rises Must Converge (1965) 'A Good Man is Hard to Find' in The Complete Short Stories (1971) By others: Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess (1980) The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (1970) ------- LINKS: Reconsidering Flannery O'Connor at University Press of Mississippi: https://bit.ly/ReconsideringFlanneryOConnor The Andalusia Institute Website: https://www.gcsu.edu/andalusiainstitute International Anthony Burgess Foundation: www.anthonyburgess.org The theme music is Anthony Burgess's Concerto for Flute, Strings and Piano in D Minor. It is performed