Unmasking the Devil: Dramas of Sin and Grace in the World of Flannery O’ Connor

Unmasking the Devil is the first in the Sapientia Gateway to Literature Series. Dr. Martin’s keen analysis, informed by a life’s work as literary critic and theologian, reveals the central action of O’Connor’s stunning fiction – the violent breaking-in of grace into lives barren of the awareness of God. He links this consistent theme of her work to the shape of her ownn faithful and cross-filled life. Usually seen as a preeminent Catholic fiction writer of the twentieth century, O’Connor’s work has set the standard for how serious writers must address God’s salvific actions while maintaining the highest standards for literature. A kind of faithful Catholic counterpoint to James Joyce, O’Connor’s work is of enduring even classic value. Dr. Martin’s larger argument points out that only fiction with a passionate religious vision has a chance of enduring, thus consigning, as Lionel Trilling once did, most liberal fiction to the remainders table.