Flannery O'Connor, Hermit Novelist

"Through deft analyses, Giannone leads the readers through a goodly amount of O'Connor's fiction accompanied by a direct tracing to the concepts discovered by the desert fathers. His reasoning is impeccable; his knowledge, though formidable, is mesmerizing. And by the end of the book, the reader has been so carefully tutored in all the shimmering connotations of such concepts as catanyxis, amma, acedia, that such terms seem not only apt but also undisturbing. . . . To say that this is an important book is an understatement."—Southern Quarterly

"A refreshing and well-written study of O'Connor's fiction as illuminated by the teaching of the desert monastics, which Giannone has researched extensively. Giannone considers the sayings of both the ancient fathers, such as Anthony and Evagrius, and the modern Thomas Merton. Since many contemporary readers will have had little or no exposure to these works, Gianonne's book proves that scholarship that takes as a starting point O'Connor's radically countercultural spiritual vision can still provide important insights."—American Literature

"Giannone reveals some of the central insights of desert wisdom as expressed in O'Connor's fiction, and the result is a book worthy of contemplative and meditative attention, not only for understanding the spiritual lives of O'Connor's characters, but for understanding the importance of the desert tradition as well. As a new approach to O'Connor, this study is indispensable."—Religion & Literature

A 2001 Choice Outstanding Academic Title