"The Diary of a Rapist builds with considerable suspense. The steady succession of entries conveys a sense of frightful change gradually eating away at a person beneath his outer shell. Yet Summerfield’s monstrousness remains human, and as he sinks deeper into madness, he also lives closer to a vision of truth: Society is corrupt; violence threatens at any moment; everyone, friend, foe, and official, lies to us constantly and shamelessly; we must undertake a sacred mission to punish the foulness and sin of the world. The lunatic has a message and tells it with a surprising and perverse force." — Roger Shattuck
"Connell is among the country’s foremost writers." — Peter Matthiessen
"The Diary of a Rapist is a bold and original piece of writing and further emphasizes the importance of Mr. Connell’s talent. He knows all the colors of darkness and the full sound of the heart’s anguish." — The New York Times Book Review
