Giving the Devil His Due: Demonic Authority in the Fiction of Flannery O'Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky

Flannery OConnor and Fyodor Dostoevsky shared a deep faith in Christ which compelled them to tell stories that force readers to choose between eternal life and demonic possession. Their either-or extremism has not become more popular in the last fifty to a hundred years since these stories were first published but it has become more relevant to a twenty-firstt-century culture in which the lukewarm middle ground seems the most comfortable place to dwell. Giving the Devil His Due walks through all of OConnors stories and looks closely at Dostoevskys magnum opus The Brothers Karamazov to show that when the devil rules all hell breaks loose. Instead of this kingdom of violence OConnor and Dostoevsky propose a kingdom of love one that is only possible when the Lord again is king. This is one of those rare books that should appeal to readers who love classic fiction and those with a strong interest in Christian theology. I admired Jessica Hooten Wilsons readings of both OConnor and Dostoevsky--muscular intelligent criticism written with a passion for the worlds they conjure. Its splendid work provocative and deeply satisfying. --Jay Parini author of The Last Station and Jesus: The Human Face of God How refreshing it is--and how necessary--to read criticism that gets us down to the real stakes of moral existence. Wilson brings us Dostoevsky and OConnor in their full profundity of faith and recognition of evil. This is just the right approach for college students awash in the trivia of youth culture reminding them that their own lives can have a richer meaning. --Mark Bauerlein Professor of English Emory University Jessica Hooten Wilson is Associate Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at John Brown University where she directs the Giving Voice Writers Festival and is associate director of the Honors Scholars Program.