Flowering Judas and other stories

by Katherine Anne Porter

Hardcover, 1940

Status

Available

Call number

813.52

Genres

General Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Your library

Publication

Modern Library (1940), Edition: 1st Edition Thus, Hardcover, 285 pages

Description

Katherine Anne Porter often spoke of her story "Flowering Judas" as the tale she liked best of all her stories because it came the nearest to what she meant it to be. It is the story of Laura, an idealistic woman, who travels to Mexico from Arizona at the age of twenty-two to assist the Obreg-n Revolution. This casebook on "Flowering Judas" addresses Porter's ambivalence surrounding her roles as woman and artist and also attests to the profound influence of Mexico upon her work. Readers of this early tale will not be surprised to learn that although Porter was a practicing feminist in her life and her work, she actually eschewed the feminist label. Virginia Spencer Carr brings her own sharply focused biographer's eye to the introduction, further illuminating the story and the superb critical essays that it provokes. The casebook includes the authoritative text of the story itself, Porter's own statement regarding the genesis of this highly acclaimed work, an important interview, a collection of significant essays on "Flowering Judas" and the historical, cultural, and personal milieu from which the tale evolved, a bibliography, and a chronology of Porter's life and work.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member A_musing

Catholicism and Marxism meet in Mexcio. This volume explores both those areas where the heart and head conflict and complement. Many wonderful vignettes.

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LibraryThing member varielle

Pulitzer prize winner Katherine Anne Porter's short story collection [Flowering Judas] still reads very well since its initial publication in 1935. Whether the stories are set in extraordinary or mundane circumstances they are centered on human relationships and still ring true. Whether it is a

mother's shame over her son's disability or an argument between a husband and wife over the purchase of a useless piece of rope this exploration of the human condition is well worth the time.

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LibraryThing member jeffome

This was a bit of a disappointment for me. 6 out of the 10 stories i liked, 4 (2 quite long) i did not, including the title story. Much unsettledness, with a revolutionary undertone.....lots of dissatisfaction, sadness, and burden-bearing......and the revolutionary part i do not even understand, so

the best i can do is a half-rating. I did very much enjoy 'The Jilting of Granny Weatherall' (an interesting treatise on the act of dying of old age from the victim's mind), 'Rope' (the early stirrings of what was likely a very unhappy marriage), 'Maria Concepcion' (a devout young bride gets her revenge on her husband's mistress), & 'That Cracked Looking Glass' (a look at the futility of a marriage of mismatched ages with unmet expectations). Does a theme seem to be emerging? A little dreary...but those i liked seemed well-written......those i did not like, i had trouble following to the point i did not care to notice the writing. I know Porter is an honored short story writer, but she may just not be for me......we will know when i muster up the energy to try the remaining 3 on my shelves.

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LibraryThing member leslie.98

This book is the first by Porter that I have read but I have heard that she was a master at short stories. Maybe that made me expect too much or maybe her style wasn't one that I admire. Some aspects of the writing appealed to me and reminded me of Willa Cather and Katherine Mansfield (mostly the

descriptions) but the stories themselves struck me as pointless and bleak (the sort of thing that made me dislike O. Henry). I am glad I tried this but I won't be in a hurry to read more.

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