michael austin's bookVardis Fisher: A Mormon Novelist is a remarkably well-written, engaging, and informative read. It starts with a dedication to Eugene England, a founding figure in Mormon letters “who got here first,” and a foreword to the Introductions to Mormon Thought Series by the editors, Matthew Bowman and Joseph Spencer. These are followed by four brief chapters and a very useful bibliographic essay.
Series editors Bowman and Spencer share that their “purpose in this series is to provide readers with accessible and short introductions to important figures” in “Mormon thought,” defining both “Mormon” and “thought” broadly (ix). Among other things, this opens the project beyond Mormon studies’ traditional route of looking at history, and perhaps theology, to consider various types of artists as well, including novelists. It also includes someone like Fisher, who was ultimately not a believing, practicing member of the Church of Jesus Christ of...
