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by Greg Maillet (Author)
Can art be a "bridge to religious experience," as John Paul II argued in his Letter to the Artists (1999)? In the twenty-first century, there is no more prolific, positive response to this question than the art of Michael D. O'Brien. O'Brien's sixteen novels have been translated into fourteen languages, and his paintings grace many Catholic churches in North America. In Living Logos, the first full overview of O'Brien's extraordinary career, Greg Maillet explores nine O'Brien novels and examines the theological aesthetic that this unique author achieves. Maillet discusses not only the iconic cover paintings of O'Brien's novels, but also his most famous character, Father Elijah, and goes into greater detail on two of O'Brien's most recent novels: By the Rivers of Babylon and Letter to the Future. Like all of O'Brien's art, these recent novels have realistic settings but stretch readers' imaginations into an eternal, sacred world in which the Living God has the final word.
Author Biography
Greg Maillet is Professor of English at Crandall University in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. He is co-author, with David Lyle Jeffrey, of Christianity and Literature: Philosophical Foundations and Critical Practice (2011). His recent books are If Is the Only Peacemaker (2022) and Recovering Consolation (2024).
