Fiction


Fictional Works that Every Christian Should Read

Many serious Christians, while understanding the value of reading non-fiction, history, and even biographies, dismiss fiction as a waste of time or strictly for those who are less serious-minded. But there are a lot of fictional works, particularly classic literature from previous centuries, that are worth the time and effort to read.

Collin Hansen with The Gospel Coalition had this to say about reading classic fiction:
Every year I read That Hideous Strength. Why? C. S. Lewis warns me that no “inner ring” is worth my soul. Jane Eyre teaches me that duty is the best and surest path to a grand passion. Wuthering Heights reminds me that love can be corrupted and do great evil. The Lord of the Rings gives me hope that small people can do great things for the Good. Pilgrim’s Progress points me to spiritual adventures and reminds me that the world is not my home. Finally, Crime and Punishment gives me hope that some pain is redemptive and that God will make sure that treatment is available…
Such reading sanctifies my imagination and nourishes my love for beauty. It also helps me to be more effective in my teaching, preaching, and exercising spiritual leadership. At the most practical level, reading great writers gives me a better feel for the rhythms of written and spoken English. More importantly, it gives me insight into the human condition, including my own soul.

With that in mind, I commend the following works of fiction to every Christian.

Note: This list is a “work in progress.” Watch for new titles to be added in the future!

Titles are listed in chronological order.

1320  The Inferno by Dante Alighieri; for more ambitious readers, continue with Purgatorio and Paradiso (The Divine Comedy)
1516   Utopia by Sir Thomas More
1612   Plays by William Shakespeare; Consider: Julius Caesar, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, or The Merchant of Venice
1668   Paradise Lost by John Milton
1678   Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
1719   Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe
1813   Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
1847   Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
1850   The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
1852   Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
1859   A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
1866   Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
1880   “The Grand Inquisitor” from The Brothers Karamazov (Bk V, Ch. 5) by Fyodor Dostoevsky
1880   Ben Hur: A Tale Of The Christ by Lew Wallace
1884   Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
1942   The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
1942   The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas
1945   Animal Farm by George Orwell
1949   Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
1950   The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia) by CS Lewis
1953   Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
1954   The Lord of the Rings trilogy (LOTR) by J.R.R. Tolkien
1955   A Good Man is Hard to Find and other stories by Flannery O’Connor
1960   To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2001   Safely Home by Randy Alcorn
2005   Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

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Is there a work of fiction that you think I should add to this list? Add your suggestions here!

2 thoughts on “Fiction”

  1. Hello – there is one book that DEFINITELY , I repeat definitely is a must-read for Christians – It’s a very old book by Enid Blyton which is like a retelling of Pilgrim’s Progress in her own way and its astonishingly similar to the paths that a Christian takes in life…..The name of the book is “The Land of Far-Beyond”
    Novel by Enid Blyton …..Please read it – I strongly recommend it for people of all ages including children

    Reply

    1. Ooh, thanks for the recommendation! I looked it up on Amazon. I love Pilgrim’s Progress and have read it numerous times, so I would be interested in reading The Land of Far-Beyond. Another book that has a similar theme is Randy Alcorn’s Edge of Eternity. I really recommend that one as well if you haven’t read it.

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