Hard Sayings: The Rhetoric of Christian Orthodoxy in Late Modern Fiction

In this study of the work of six Christian fiction writers active from WWII to the present, Haddox (English, University of Tennessee-Knoxville) uses techniques from the field of rhetorical narratology to analyze how these writers position themselves in relation to Christian orthodoxy and how they attempt to persuade educated, secular audiences of the truth of Christian doctrine. The writers examined are Flannery O’Connor, Muriel Spark, John Updike, Walker Percy, Mary Gordon, and Marilynne Robinson. Annotation ©2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)