Revision as of 2016 June by MJ. Smith

MJ Smith’s Literature Reading List – Bible, Religion or Ethics inspired

Reading List

Based on Biblical characters

Ashcroft, Mary Ellen. The Magdalene Gospel
Bishop, Jim. The Day Christ Was Born and the Day Christ Died
Brelich, Mario. Navigator of the Flood | Noah
Brelich, Mario. Holy Embrace | Abraham and Sarah
Brelich, Mario. The Work of Betrayal | Judas Iscariot
Bulgakov, Mikhail. The Master and Margarita | Jesus and Pontius Pilate
Caldwell, Taylor. Dear and Glorious Physician | Luke
Caldwell, Taylor. Great Lion of God | Paul
Caldwell, Taylor. I, Judas
Carbo, Nick and Dehamel, Denise, editors. Sweet Jesus: Poems About the Ultimate Icon
Coelho, Paulo. The Fifth Mountain | Elijah
Crace, Jim. Quarantine: A Novel | Forty days in the desert
Diamant, Anita. The Red Tent | Dinah
Douglas, Lloyd C. The Big Fisherman | Peter
Douglas, Lloyd C. The Robe: The Story of the Soldier Who Tossed for Christ’s Robe and Won
Duquesne, Jacques with Spencer, Catherine translator. Jesus: An Unconventional Biography
Gide, Andre. “Return of the Prodigal Son”
Graves, Robert. King Jesus: A Novel
Grossman, David with Schoffman, Stuart translator. Lion’s Honey: The Myth of Samson
H. D. Pilate’s Wife
Hamilton, Adam. 24 Hours That Changed the World | last 24 hours of Jesus’ life
Hareven, Shulamith. Thirst: The Desert Trilogy | Wandering in the desert from Exodus
Hays, Edward W. The Gospel of Gabriel : A Life of Jesus the Christ
Heller, Joseph. God Knows | David
Heym, Stefan. The King David Report
Hurston, Zora Neale. Moses: Man of the Mountain
Hussein, Kamel M. City of Wrong: A Friday in Jerusalem | Good Friday
Junius manuscript. Exodus | 10th plague to defeat of Pharaoh at the Red Sea
Kazantzakis, Nikos with Vasils, Theodora. Alexander The Great: A Novel
Kazantzakis, Nikos with Bien, P. A. translator. The Last Temptation of Christ
Lagerkvist, Pär with Blair, Alan translator. Barabbas | Nobel Prize in Literature 1951
Lagerkvist, Pär with Walford, Naomi translator. The Death of Ahasuerus | wandering Jew who legend places in the Passion; Nobel Prize in Literature 1951
Lagerkvist, Pär. Herod and Marianne | Nobel Prize in Literature 1951
Lagerkvist, Pär with Walford, Naomi translator. The Holy Land | continuation of The Death of Ahasuerus in Tobias tetralogy; Nobel Prize in Literature 1951
Lagerkvist, Pär with Walford, Naomi translator. Pilgrim at Sea | continuation of The Death of Ahasuerus in Tobias tetralogy; Nobel Prize in Literature 1951
Lagerkvist, Pär with Walford, Naomi translator. The Sibyl | continuation of The Death of Ahasuerus in Tobias tetralogy; Nobel Prize in Literature 1951
Lagerlöf, Selma. Christ Legends | Nobel Prize in Literature 1909
Lawrence, D. H. The Man Who Died
Lindgren, Torgny. Bathsheba
Linney, Romulus. Jesus Tales
Mailer, Norman. The Gospel According to the Son: A Novel
Maine, David. The Book of Samson
Maine, David. Fallen | Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel
Maine, David. The Flood aka The Preservationist | Noah
MacLeish, Archibald. J. B.: A Play in Verse | Job; Pulitzer Prize for Drama 1959
Mann, Thomas with Woods, John E. Joseph and His Brothers: The Stories of Jacob, Young Joseph, Joseph in Egypt, Joseph the Provider | Nobel Prize in Literature 1929
Mann, Thomas. “The Tables of the Law” | Moses; Nobel Prize in Literature 1929
Meyer, Gabriel. Gospel of Joseph: a Novel
Michener, James A. The Source: A Novel
Moore, Christopher. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
Oursler, Fulton. The Greatest Story Ever Told: The Timeless Story of the Life of Jesus Christ
Pinsky, Robert. The Life of David
Rice, Anne. Life of Christ: Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt: A Novel
Rice, Anne. Life of Christ: Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana: A Novel
Saramago, Jose with Costa, Margaret Jull translator. Cain | Nobel Prize in Literature 1998
Saramago, Jose with Pontiero, Giovanni translator. The Gospel According to Jesus Christ | Nobel Prize in Literature 1998
Sheen, Fulton J. Life of Christ
Simon, Neil. God’s Favorite | Job
Steinbeck, John. East of Eden | Cain and Abel
Theissen, Gerd. The Shadow of the Galilean: The Quest of the Historical Jesus in Narrative Form
Tóibín, Colm. The Testament of Mary: A Novel | Mary
Twain, Mark. Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven | Adam, Moses and others
Twain, Mark. The Diary of Adam and Eve
Videl, Gore. Live from Golgotha: The Gospel According to Gore Vidal
Waltari, Mika. The Secret of the Kingdom | early Christians
Wangerin Jr., Walter. The Book of God: The Bible as a Novel
Wangerin Jr., Walter. Jesus
Wangerin Jr., Walter. Naomi and Her Daughters: A Novel
Wallace, Lew. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Wibberley, Leonard. The Centurion
Zozimus. “The Finding of Moses” / poem

Based on religious issues

Kadare, Ismail. The Three-Arched Bridge | Christian-Muslim relations
Kazantzakis, Nikos. Christ Recrucified: A Novel
Kolitz, Zvi. Yosl Rakover Talks to God | Refusal to abandon God in face of the Holocause
Smith, Lee. Saving Grace | Life of an Appalachian preacher’s kid/
Taher, Bahaa’ with Romaine, Barbara translator. Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery: A Novel | Egyptian Coptic Christian-Muslim relations

Ethical considerations

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird | Prejudice and discimination
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts | Socially sanctioned violence

Hagiography

Anouilh, Jean. The Lark | Joan of Arc
Brecht, Bertolt. Saint Joan of the Stockyards
Eliot, T. S. Murder in the Cathedral | Thomas Becket; Nobel Prize for Literature 1948
Forbes, F. A. The Life of Saint Columba, Apostle of Scotland
Forbes, F. A. The Life of Saint Monica
Forbes, F. A. Life of St. Vincent de Paul
Forbes, F. A. Saint Athanasius: The Father of Orthodoxy
Giardina, Denise. Saints and Villains | Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Kazantzakis, Nikos. God’s Pauper: A Novel St. Francis of Asissi
Keneally, Thomas. Blood Red, Sister Rose
Lachman, Barbara. The Journal of Hildegard of Bingen: A Novel
Lachman, Barbara. Hildegard: The Last Year
Mann, Thomas. The Holy Sinnerr | Popee Gregory; Nobel Prize in Literature 1929
Shaw, George Bernard. St. Joan. A Chronicle Play in Six Scenes and an Epilogue
Twain, Mark. Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
Undset, Sigrid. Catherine of Siena | Nobel Prize in Literature 1928
Waugh, Evelyn. Helena
Werfel, Franz. The Song of Bernadette

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