Buddy Glass

She's one of the best short story writers of the 20th century, in my opinion. I absolutely love her, especially "Everything that Rises Must Converge". I don't find, as many do, her characters to be grotesques. On the contrary, I think that her strength is the depth she invests in her characters and in their flaws and moral/spritual qualms. There's something of the Kierkegaardian in her stories, too, sometimes, what with her being very religious and all.