Susan Srigley is assistant professor of Religions and Cultures at Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario, Canada.

"O'Connor's fiction is at once dogmatic and realistic. Only a critic with Srigley's theological and literary abilities can lead us happily to stand in that tension and make deep sense out of what it shows us about ourselves and God." —Anglican Theological Review"Susan Srigley mounts an able defense of Flannery O'Connor's orthodoxy against critics who have argued that her use of the 'grotesque' was more Manichean than Catholic—i.e., that she divided matter from spirit. On the contrary, Srigley replies in Flannery O'Connor's Sacramental Art, the author used the grotesque to hold a mirror up to modern times." —New Oxford Review". . . but the sacramentality of O'Connor's work is undeniable, and Srigley presents the evidence clearly. To her credit, she reminds the readers of O'Connor's own advice on interpreting literature: 'When anybody asks what a story is about, the only proper thing is to tell him to read the story.' For what it is about, read O'Connor. Read Srigley for her thoughts on how to do ethics." —Religious Studies Review" . . . sophisticated reconciliations of O'Connor's artistry and her Catholic religious intentions . . . Srigley's book . . . puts to rest any notion that Flannery O'Connor can be regarded as just another of the 20th century's secular specialists in the grotesque. Anyone seriously interested in her well-deserved place in America's literary pantheon should take a look . . . " —Wilson Quarterly"Flannery O'Connor's Sacramental Art breaks significant new ground, exploring the ethical implications of O'Connor's sacramental view of reality. As a theologian who has used Flannery O'Connor's fiction in teaching undergraduates and graduate students for over a decade, I applaud Srigley's approach to 'ethics as fiction' and look forward to more of her provocative and intelligent interpretations of Flannery O'Connor." —America". . . Srigley's book offers something new and useful to the field." —Journal of Religion & Society"Srigley . . . focuses not on the premises by which we view O'Connor's characters, but on the extensions of their characterizations as recipients of grace: she believes that makes them accountable for an 'ethic of responsibility,' an enactment of compassionate love in the world, and she thus provides us a new measure for evaluating 'the moral dimension' of O'Connor's art." —Christianity and Literature"People have misunderstood O'Connor and her fictional characters too, and Srigley facilitates a better understanding of what they mean, and how." —Review for Religious"Srigley's Flannery O'Connor's Sacramental Art offers further persuasive arguments for recognizing O'Connor's spiritual aims in her fiction as necessary for a comprehensive appreciation of her work. In particular, Srigley offers a clear, penetrating analysis of the influence of Thomas Aquinas and Jacques Maritain on O'Connor's writing. [T]he moral vision and ethic of responsibility that Srigley discerns in O'Connor's fiction—neither of which absolutely require a belief in Christ—effectively opens the possibility for O'Connor's fiction to be understood by an audience whom O'Connor could not count on sharing her theological assumptions." —Religion & Literature"For once, the book-cover blurbs are right. Susan Srigley has produced that rarest of phenomena: an original and originating reading of the fiction of Flannery O'Connor. . . . What is remarkable about Susan Srigley's new study is that she keeps her focus on her larger thesis. That thesis does provide a new trail in the ever-extending forest of interpretation of O'Connor. With scrupulous analysis, Srigley reveals once again another triumph of O'Connor's art that has become, by 2006, international." —Flannery O'Connor Review

Susan Srigley is assistant professor of Religions and Cultures at Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario, Canada.

"O'Connor's fiction is at once dogmatic and realistic. Only a critic with Srigley's theological and literary abilities can lead us happily to stand in that tension and make deep sense out of what it shows us about ourselves and God." —Anglican Theological Review"Susan Srigley mounts an able defense of Flannery O'Connor's orthodoxy against critics who have argued that her use of the 'grotesque' was more Manichean than Catholic—i.e., that she divided matter from spirit. On the contrary, Srigley replies in Flannery O'Connor's Sacramental Art, the author used the grotesque to hold a mirror up to modern times." —New Oxford Review". . . but the sacramentality of O'Connor's work is undeniable, and Srigley presents the evidence clearly. To her credit, she reminds the readers of O'Connor's own advice on interpreting literature: 'When anybody asks what a story is about, the only proper thing is to tell him to read the story.' For what it is about, read O'Connor. Read Srigley for her thoughts on how to do ethics." —Religious Studies Review" . . . sophisticated reconciliations of O'Connor's artistry and her Catholic religious intentions . . . Srigley's book . . . puts to rest any notion that Flannery O'Connor can be regarded as just another of the 20th century's secular specialists in the grotesque. Anyone seriously interested in her well-deserved place in America's literary pantheon should take a look . . . " —Wilson Quarterly"Flannery O'Connor's Sacramental Art breaks significant new ground, exploring the ethical implications of O'Connor's sacramental view of reality. As a theologian who has used Flannery O'Connor's fiction in teaching undergraduates and graduate students for over a decade, I applaud Srigley's approach to 'ethics as fiction' and look forward to more of her provocative and intelligent interpretations of Flannery O'Connor." —America". . . Srigley's book offers something new and useful to the field." —Journal of Religion & Society"Srigley . . . focuses not on the premises by which we view O'Connor's characters, but on the extensions of their characterizations as recipients of grace: she believes that makes them accountable for an 'ethic of responsibility,' an enactment of compassionate love in the world, and she thus provides us a new measure for evaluating 'the moral dimension' of O'Connor's art." —Christianity and Literature"People have misunderstood O'Connor and her fictional characters too, and Srigley facilitates a better understanding of what they mean, and how." —Review for Religious"Srigley's Flannery O'Connor's Sacramental Art offers further persuasive arguments for recognizing O'Connor's spiritual aims in her fiction as necessary for a comprehensive appreciation of her work. In particular, Srigley offers a clear, penetrating analysis of the influence of Thomas Aquinas and Jacques Maritain on O'Connor's writing. [T]he moral vision and ethic of responsibility that Srigley discerns in O'Connor's fiction—neither of which absolutely require a belief in Christ—effectively opens the possibility for O'Connor's fiction to be understood by an audience whom O'Connor could not count on sharing her theological assumptions." —Religion & Literature"For once, the book-cover blurbs are right. Susan Srigley has produced that rarest of phenomena: an original and originating reading of the fiction of Flannery O'Connor. . . . What is remarkable about Susan Srigley's new study is that she keeps her focus on her larger thesis. That thesis does provide a new trail in the ever-extending forest of interpretation of O'Connor. With scrupulous analysis, Srigley reveals once again another triumph of O'Connor's art that has become, by 2006, international." —Flannery O'Connor Review

Susan Srigley is assistant professor of Religions and Cultures at Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario, Canada.

"O'Connor's fiction is at once dogmatic and realistic. Only a critic with Srigley's theological and literary abilities can lead us happily to stand in that tension and make deep sense out of what it shows us about ourselves and God." —Anglican Theological Review"Susan Srigley mounts an able defense of Flannery O'Connor's orthodoxy against critics who have argued that her use of the 'grotesque' was more Manichean than Catholic—i.e., that she divided matter from spirit. On the contrary, Srigley replies in Flannery O'Connor's Sacramental Art, the author used the grotesque to hold a mirror up to modern times." —New Oxford Review". . . but the sacramentality of O'Connor's work is undeniable, and Srigley presents the evidence clearly. To her credit, she reminds the readers of O'Connor's own advice on interpreting literature: 'When anybody asks what a story is about, the only proper thing is to tell him to read the story.' For what it is about, read O'Connor. Read Srigley for her thoughts on how to do ethics." —Religious Studies Review" . . . sophisticated reconciliations of O'Connor's artistry and her Catholic religious intentions . . . Srigley's book . . . puts to rest any notion that Flannery O'Connor can be regarded as just another of the 20th century's secular specialists in the grotesque. Anyone seriously interested in her well-deserved place in America's literary pantheon should take a look . . . " —Wilson Quarterly"Flannery O'Connor's Sacramental Art breaks significant new ground, exploring the ethical implications of O'Connor's sacramental view of reality. As a theologian who has used Flannery O'Connor's fiction in teaching undergraduates and graduate students for over a decade, I applaud Srigley's approach to 'ethics as fiction' and look forward to more of her provocative and intelligent interpretations of Flannery O'Connor." —America". . . Srigley's book offers something new and useful to the field." —Journal of Religion & Society"Srigley . . . focuses not on the premises by which we view O'Connor's characters, but on the extensions of their characterizations as recipients of grace: she believes that makes them accountable for an 'ethic of responsibility,' an enactment of compassionate love in the world, and she thus provides us a new measure for evaluating 'the moral dimension' of O'Connor's art." —Christianity and Literature"People have misunderstood O'Connor and her fictional characters too, and Srigley facilitates a better understanding of what they mean, and how." —Review for Religious"Srigley's Flannery O'Connor's Sacramental Art offers further persuasive arguments for recognizing O'Connor's spiritual aims in her fiction as necessary for a comprehensive appreciation of her work. In particular, Srigley offers a clear, penetrating analysis of the influence of Thomas Aquinas and Jacques Maritain on O'Connor's writing. [T]he moral vision and ethic of responsibility that Srigley discerns in O'Connor's fiction—neither of which absolutely require a belief in Christ—effectively opens the possibility for O'Connor's fiction to be understood by an audience whom O'Connor could not count on sharing her theological assumptions." —Religion & Literature"For once, the book-cover blurbs are right. Susan Srigley has produced that rarest of phenomena: an original and originating reading of the fiction of Flannery O'Connor. . . . What is remarkable about Susan Srigley's new study is that she keeps her focus on her larger thesis. That thesis does provide a new trail in the ever-extending forest of interpretation of O'Connor. With scrupulous analysis, Srigley reveals once again another triumph of O'Connor's art that has become, by 2006, international." —Flannery O'Connor Review