On Moral Fiction

“Fearless, illuminating” criticism from a New York Times –bestselling author and legendary teacher, “proving . . . that true art is moral and not trivial” ( Los Angeles Times ).     Novelist John Gardner’s thesis in  On Moral Fiction  is simple: “True art is by its nature moral.” It is also an audacious statement, as Gardner asserts an inherent value in life and in art. Since the book’s first publication, the passion behind Gardner’s assertion has both provoked and