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
- Brelich, Mario. Navigator of the Flood | Noah
- Brelich, Mario. Holy Embrace | Abraham and Sarah
- Brelich, Mario. The Work of Betrayal | Judas Iscariot
- Caldwell, Taylor. Dear and Glorious Physician | Luke
- Caldwell, Taylor. Great Lion of God | Paul
- 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 Robe: The Story of the Soldier Who Tossed for Christ’s Robe and Won
- Graves, Robert. King Jesus: A Novel
- Grossman, David with Schoffman, Stuart translator. Lion’s Honey: The Myth of Samson
- H. D. Pilate’s Wife
- Heller, Joseph. God Knows | David
- Heym, Stefan. The King David Report
- 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
- Lawrence, D. H. The Man Who Died
- Linney, Romulus. Jesus Tales
- Mailer, Norman. The Gospel According to the Son: A Novel
- MacLeish, Archibald. J. B.: A Play in Verse | Job; Pulitzer Prize for Drama 1959
- Michener, James A. The Source: A Novel
- Moore, Christopher. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
- 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
- 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
- Wangerin, Walter Jr. The Book of God: The Bible as 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
- Kazantzakis, Nikos. God’s Pauper: A Novel St. Francis of Asissi
- Shaw, George Bernard. St. Joan. A Chronicle Play in Six Scenes and an Epilogue
- Twain, Mark. Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc