Afterlives of the Saints is a woven gathering of groundbreaking essays that move through Renaissance anatomy and the Sistine Chapel, Borges’ "Library of Babel," the history of spontaneous human combustion, the dangers of masturbation, the pleasures of castration, “and so forth” — each essay focusing on the story of a particular (and particularly strange) saint.
Afterlives of the Saints
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About the Author
Colin Dickey is the author of Cranioklepty: Grave Robbing and the Search for Genius. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Lapham's Quarterly, Cabinet, TriQuarterly, and The Santa Monica Review. He is also coeditor (with Nicole Antebi and Robby Herbst) of Failure! Experiments in Aesthetic and Social Practices.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Edith Piaff
Format:Hardcover
Dickey's "Afterlives of the Saints: Stories from the Ends of Faith" indeed takes us to the ends, the furthermost fringes of what it means to be human, to be flesh. A stunningly Baroque tapestry of the history of peculiar and unstable saints woven through the obsessions of art history and literature. A phenomenally beautiful read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Colin Dickey's Afterlives of the Saints is not a book not so much about the Saints lives, but the Saints continuing lives as symbols, and the surprising ways we find to use and misuse those symbols, from the dark humor of St. Lawrence becoming the patron saint of barbeques, to the surprising history of paintings of St. Sebastian as erotic art. Intellectually the book explores the shaky and shady properties of symbol, but the enjoyment of the book is in its very impressive research that draws connections between different time periods, of how it highlights human folly, cruelty, absurdity, and genius. Each chapter stands on its own and adds to the exploration of the larger ideas in the book. The book spans so many disciplines that I think most anyone would enjoy it. I recommend the book highly.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you're looking for a long form history of the saints, this is perhaps not the book for you. The author isn't trying to give an exhaustive academic review.
Instead the book is more a meditation on selected saints. Each short essay has a theme, some ridiculous and interesting facts, loads of cultural and literary allusions, and a meditation on life and death. If you like interdisciplinary work (which I absolutely do) than you will enjoy this. There is history and philosophy and religion, but it's lighthearted and educational and not at all self indulgent.
Instead the book is more a meditation on selected saints. Each short essay has a theme, some ridiculous and interesting facts, loads of cultural and literary allusions, and a meditation on life and death. If you like interdisciplinary work (which I absolutely do) than you will enjoy this. There is history and philosophy and religion, but it's lighthearted and educational and not at all self indulgent.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
new perspective on an old topic
Dickey's latest work is an interesting selection of saints - famous and forgotten, martyred and disfigured, the academics and the ignorant. Read more
Published 2 months ago by librarianshannon
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lessons on How to Be Human
A couple years ago I hosted a small group at my house with some friends. We decided to study a classic Christian text called The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian... Read more
Published 6 months ago by L. Severson
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't They Edit Kindle Books?
I have been a fan of Kindle since it was first offered by Amazon, but I have noticed that a number of the books I have purchased have had typos, misspellings, and other typesetting... Read more
Published 10 months ago by C. Alexandre Barbera
2.0 out of 5 stars
Completely Disorganized
This book is a collection of essays/stories about odd or unique Saints. Each chapter discusses a different saint and provides information about their lives, mythology and the odd... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mary E. Young
