Understanding Andre Dubus

"In Understanding Andre Dubus, Olivia Carr Edenfield has given us the best comprehensive analysis—stories, novels and essays—of that unforgettable writer. Her empathetic reading concentrates on love, grace, sacrament, and ritual and her sensitive interpretation and thematic interweaving bring Dubus's works back to life in a fearlessly original way."—Allen Josephs, author of On Hemingway and Spain

"Edenfield's deft assessment of Dubus's career occurs in prose everywhere as accessible as that of her subject, and her thematic treatments reveal fruitful insights for both first-time readers and published scholars on Dubus. There will certainly be other books on this brilliant writer, but all will take their lead from Edenfield."—Lee Clark Mitchell, Princeton University

"Edenfield explicates both the highly revered works and the overlooked efforts, giving us a more rounded portrait of the writer's thirty-five-year output than ever before. Rich in insight and fueled by first-hand interviews, this book is destined to become the starting point not just for understanding Andre Dubus but for appreciating him, too."—Kirk Curnutt, author of Reading Hemingway's To Have and Have Not

"Understanding Andre Dubus is the most insightful and informative study ever published on this master of short fiction. As a leading scholar in the field, Olivia Edenfield has provided the essential biographical and critical background required for an informed reading of some of the best short stories in American literature. Free of theoretical jargon, her book offers both background information and sensitive insight."—James Nagel, Eidson Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Georgia