# Suggestions for Fiction Books Dealing with Faith **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 14, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109 "2004-05-14T14:35:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![c\_carol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@c\_carol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_carol)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/21 "2004-05-15T00:07:33Z")
Orson Scott Card, maybe? A lot of his sci-fi and fantasy stuff touches on religious themes. He’s also got a couple of interesting books about Old Testament characters – the best of these is [Sarah](http://www.hatrack.com/osc/books/sarah.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/22 "2004-05-15T05:22:12Z")
> [@thwartme](#): > > (heh heh… just spell-checked my post and realised I had referred to ‘athiest fiends’ instead of ‘athiest friends’. Not a Freudian slip, honest!) Odd that your spellchecker picked that up at all, given that “fiends” is a word. I think you mean “proofread” 😉 To answer the OP, you asked for “faith-related” but you didn’t specify if it had to be Christian faith-related. I kinda got the impression it did, but if not, _The Satanic Verses_ is an excellent (if long) read which approaches faith from a dozen different directions. (it’s sorta about the revelation of the Qu’ran, in case you were wondering) ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/23 "2004-05-15T05:38:56Z")
John Irving’s **A Prayer for Owen Meany** is one of the best books about faith I’ve ever read, and it’s done in a completely non-religious way. I’d also recommend _The Autobiography of Malcolm X_\* for a look at the transformative nature of finding faith. ---
**Author:** ![Freejooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba8739/32.png) [@Freejooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freejooky)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/24 "2004-05-15T08:01:15Z")
You are _so_ looking for Walker Percy’s **The Moviegoer** and Douglas Coupland’s **Life After God**. Both are very, very secular explorations of near-deafening, Kierkegaardian forays into faith. Brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/25 "2004-05-15T08:06:39Z")
> [@LMM](#): > > Two by the great Graham Greene: > > **The Heart of the Matter** and _The Power and the Glory_. Both have strong religious (specifically Catholic, although there’s a lot that applies to any Christian denomination) themes, and both are among the greatest modern novels in English. Or the greatest novels ever written, period. Greene is often thought of as the greatest “Catholic” novelist there’s ever been. _Brighton Rock_, also by Greene, is another book to consider. It contains of of my favorite quotes: > [@](#): > > You can’t conceive…nor can I, or anyone…the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/26 "2004-05-15T12:43:33Z")
I would suggest just about any book by Madeleine L’Engle. One of my all time favorite books is _A Wrinkle In Time_ . Also, my book group just read _Life of Pi_ by Yann Martel. Very allegorical, a lot of religious elements in it. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/27 "2004-05-15T13:21:24Z")
Right. I was supposed to read _The Moviegoer_ a while ago. I should see if it’s in print. Second vote for _A Canticle For Leibowitz_. It’s very good. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/28 "2004-05-15T13:47:06Z")
> [@Gail](#): > > Also, my book group just read _Life of Pi_ by Yann Martel. Very allegorical, a lot of religious elements in it. The book group at my church read that one. We had a great time discussing it. We also read _Peace Like A River_ by Leif Enger and _The Secret Life of Bees_ by Sue Monk Kidd. Both were very good books. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/29 "2004-05-15T14:18:19Z")
> [@LMM](#): > > Anthony Burgess wrote a fictional version of the Acts of the Apostles, although I can’t remember the title right now. > > . THE KINGDOM OF THE WICKED, which is kinda his novelization of his screenplay for the NBC miniseries A.D., kinda a sequel to JESUS OF NAZARETH, for which he also wrote the screenplay & inspired his novel MAN OF NAZARETH. Btw, Burgess also hoped to do the screenplay for a Conversion of Constantine miniseries to complete a trilogy- no idea if he actually did any work on it. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/30 "2004-05-15T14:33:16Z")
A second vote for Ann Tyler, Saint Maybe. Dorothy Sayers’ mystery novels also frequently had elements of faith and conscience, and are very well written. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/31 "2004-05-15T14:36:25Z")
I second Walker Percy- he was a great Southern Gothic Catholic social satirist- (tho THE MOVIEGOER is the one novel of his I have not read-) I have read- THE LAST GENTLEMAN, which I didn’t care for & don’t recall much of; it’s sequel THE SECOND COMING about a middle-aged man whose chemical imbalance leads to an obsession about the title subject & how his quest leads him into the arms of a young emotionally-withdrawn woman (I liked it much better) LANCELOT- a man confesses to his best friend, now a psychiatrist/priest, of how he sought to confirm God’s existence by committing real sin- also rrecommended LOVE IN THE RUINS- my personal favorite, subtitle The Adventures of a Bad Catholic at a Time Near the End of the World, brilliant but somewhat dated (& occasionally prophetic) social satire of early 70s political & religious division THE THANATOS SYNDROME- LitR’s decent but lesser sequel. Deals with lots of life-termination & mind manipulation issues. LOST IN THE COSMOS- The Last Self-Help Book- humorous philosphical-theological-sci-fi observation of life Two books of essays- THE MESSAGE IN THE BOTTLE and SIGNPOSTS IN A STRANGE LAND- pretty good but not what I would start with. I’d start with 2nd Coming, Love/Ruins & Lancelot. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/32 "2004-05-15T14:48:42Z")
More recommendations- C.S. Lewis- TILL WE HAVE FACES a dark challenging retelling of the Eros & Psyche myth, not as overtly Christian as most of his fiction (Btw, tho I’ve heard other make the same comment of THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH that Shodan has, I have the opposite view. THS is the best of the three IMO.) Also by Lewis- THE GREAT DIVORCE- a Journey into the Afterlife Various novels by Father Andrew Greeley, mystery/romances- usually based around a screwed-up Irish Catholic man & a screwed-up Irish Catholic woman thrown together by a screwed-up Irish Catholic God. DEAR AND GLORIOUS PHYSICIAN by Taylor Caldwell- The Greek physician Luke wages war against an uncaring God by helping the victims of His negligence, then he meets some who claim He has become a man… Kinda overwrought but I like it. Jame BeauSeigneur THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY- In His Image, Birth of an Age, Acts of God- an truly literate exciting & intriguing End Times saga, would be the best selling series rather than LEFT BEHIND if the mass reading public had any taste. Aldous Huxley BRAVE NEW WORLD Jan Karon’s MITFORD novels- Old Episcopal priest Father Tim & his new wife deal with tragedies & challenges & friendship & happiness in a small Southern town. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/33 "2004-05-15T16:56:42Z")
Others have recommended various works of science fiction and/or fantasy, but here’s an online list: [http://www.spectacle.org/396/scifi/pavlac2.html](http://www.spectacle.org/396/scifi/pavlac2.html) ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/34 "2004-05-15T18:09:43Z")
You may want to look at a short story collection by **Flannery O’Connor**. All of her short stories deals with faith in one form or another. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Creant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Miss\_Creant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Creant)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/35 "2004-05-16T01:42:26Z")
Do they have a sense of humor? [Lamb](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380813815/qid=1084671630/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-7895427-7758244) ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/36 "2004-05-16T03:17:13Z")
C.S. Lewis’ _The Screwtape Letters_. Great, humorous view on the trials and temptations of the Christian life from the “other side”. And, if she doesn’t mind slightly more Christian-type writing, the “Narnia” series. Ray Bradbury’s _Martian Chronicles_ has a number of Christian-type stories. And what’s wrong with reading the Bible? Sure, some of those genealogies might run a little dry, but the narrative portions are pretty exciting. And some people consider that to be fiction, too, but let’s not go there. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Renob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@Renob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renob)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/37 "2004-05-17T14:51:38Z")
Thanks for all the suggestions. There are some very good ones here. I’ll run them by her and see what she thinks. ---
**Author:** ![Catsmeow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Catsmeow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catsmeow)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2004, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109/38 "2004-05-17T19:26:44Z")
They may also enjoy the trillogy from Marjorie Holmes on the life of Christ. Two from Galilee Mary and Joseph’s story Three from Galilee The begining of Jesus’ ministry The Messiah the final days of Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection. Or The Red Tent by Anita Diamant The Women of Genesis books by Orson Scott Card are good as are the Lineage of Grace series by Francine Rivers. I also love Skeleton in God’s Closet and More than a Skeleton by Paul Maier. Great gripping reads. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggestions-for-fiction-books-dealing-with-faith/245109.md?page=1)