Books
Review

The Terrible Speed of Mercy

A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O’Connor

Sinners and freaks populate the novels and short stories of Flannery O’Connor, making for disturbing reading. Her characters, drawn largely from the rural Georgia culture of her upbringing and sadly-abbreviated adulthood, do beastly things to one another—up to and including violent murder. Where’s the “Christian” significance in all this? Biographer Jonathan Rogers, walking us chronologically through O’Connor’s life and literary career, shows that rays of grace indeed pierce through the terrifying imagery. Confronted with scenes of scandalous evil from everyday life, we confront the scandalous, cruciform shape of gospel reality itself.

The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O'Connor

The Terrible Speed of Mercy: A Spiritual Biography of Flannery O'Connor

Thomas Nelson

208 pages

$12.47

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

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Rest Works

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Why Jonathan Bock Wants More Christians in the Arts

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John G. Stackhouse Jr.

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Letters to the Editor

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Go Figure

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View issue

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The Call to Art, Africa, and Politics

In 1964, CT urged Christians to “be what they really are—new men and women in Christ.”

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