A review by an_enthusiastic_reader
Afterlives of the Saints: Stories from the Ends of Faith by Colin Dickey

5.0

This book is fun. The author organizes a series of essays about how saints have figured into the culture and transformed it, regardless of whether or not the saints' reputed miracles occurred. It is the stories of the saints that matter here, putting a spotlight on human nature and its attraction to violence and dreams of redemption. I knew nothing much about saint culture; I only vaguely recognize the impact of saints on art, language, and pulling older myths into religious frameworks. It's short and funny, worth a read. And I thought about Walter Ong the whole time I was reading.