Other than Paradise Lost, what are some works based on the Bible? I have to write a paper over such a piece and compare and contrast it with the book of the Bible it is based on, but I am completely unfamiliar with this type of work. Any and all suggestions would be helpful - I am just trying to find out what is out there and available for now.
Does it have to be old Literature-with-a-capital-L, or will modern stuff work? If the later, I think the best out there is The Red Tent . It’s a girl-power version of Genesis Chapter 34. I’ve spent the last few years looking for another as good, with no luck.
Many books based on the Bible are not what I would consider “literature.” A notable exception is Nikos Kazantzakis’s The Last Temptation of Christ.
Not based on a specific book, but there is a humorous book called “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal.” It’s the story of Christ BEFORE the part that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John record. May not work for your assignment, but I recommend reading it anyway. Hilarious.
A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, is based on Genesis. That is, if my freshman-year English teacher was to be believed.
Oh hey, I just found a list on Amazon of Bible-based fiction:
http://www.amazon.com/Bible-based-fiction/lm/RFAYO5X1SHJ
Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” has biblical themes. It’s also a really good book.
In addition to Paradise Lost, there’s also Milton’s “Samson Agonistes” . More modern, there’s Joseph Heller’s “God Knows”
There’s Fulton Oursler’s “The Greatest Story Ever Told”, a novel about the life of Jesus. There are a bunch of them out there.
Barabbas, by the Nobel Prize winning Par Lagerkvist.
Stephen Brust’s To Reign in Hell is genesis (and the non-Biblical Fall) told from Satan’s POV. Fun, but not very deep.
Going slightly further afield, Orson Scott Card’s Homecoming series is meant to be a science fiction retelling of the Book of Mormon. It’s kinda sucky, though.
J.B. by Archibald MacLeish <sp> is based on the Book of Job. It has been more than 30 years since I read in HS so I don’t remember much about the book.
If “works” based on the Bible include movies, there are lots of possibilities, including Last Temptation and a number of others based on Jesus, several based on Moses and the Exodus story (The Ten Commandments, Prince of Egypt), the Veggie Tales movie which is based on the book of Jonah, etc.
Walter Wangerin has written The Book of God and Paul: A Novel (neither of which I have read, so I can’t offer any personal recommendation).
Johnny Cash wrote a novel about the life of Paul called Man In White.
If you really want something that’s considered Literature, there’s Thomas Mann’s Joseph and His Brothers
Orson Scott Card also has a series about women of the Old Testament. “Sarah” and “Rebeccah” are two of titles (I think). Interestingly and most likely pointless for your needs, he also wrote a book about the wife of Joseph Smith the founder of the LDS church.
This should be a easy one. How many end of the world type books have been written based on Revelation? Almost any apocalyptic work will have some connection to Revelation.
There are at least a few in contemporary Christian fiction. Here are a few I’ve at heard of. My guess is they’d be easy reads, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Hadassah: One Night with the King, by Tommy Tenney (Esther)
Unshaken, by Francine Rivers (Ruth)
Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers (story of Hosea the prophet)
Otherwise, I second the nomination for East of Eden. In my junior year English class, I was apparently one of the few that got all the Biblical allusion. I felt bad for those in the dark. I’m sure it’s a good story without all that stuff, but I can’t imagine it’s as rich and wonderful and intense.
How about Mark Twain’s “The Diaries of Adam and Eve”?
Or try Andre Gide’s short story, “Return of the Prodigal Son.”
How loose are you willing to go? Because a huge percentage of works made in the last ~1500 years are influenced by Judeo-Christianity.
For example, The Stand, by Stephen King. The Exodus story is hugely influential.
Also, The Green Mile has a lot of crucifixion aspects in it. (Three criminals scheduled for execution, 1 innocent, 1 repentant, one not repentant.) And that’s just one author who is a far cry from being C.S. Lewis.
I read this in HS, too, almost exactly 30 years ago, and I don’t remember it any better than you do. I’m assured it is “real literature,” though.
You might look into a couple of books from the 1940s by Lloyd C. Douglas. The Robe is about the Roman soldier in charge of Christ’s crucifixion, and The Big Fisherman is about St. Peter.
Then there’s also the novel Ben-Hur, by Lew Wallace.
The plays J.B. and Neil Simon’s God’s Favorite are both based on the book of Job.