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
Currie, Ron. God Is Dead/ | Jesus
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
L’Engle, Madeleine. The Genesis Trilogy: And It Was Good, A Stone for a Pillow, Sold into Egypt
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
Tournier, Michel. Eleaszar, Exodus to the West | Moses
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
Kelby, N. M. In the Company of Angels: A Novel | war
Kolitz, Zvi. Yosl Rakover Talks to God | refusal to abandon God in face of the Holocaust
Roberts, Michèle. Impossible Saints
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
Vodolazkin, Eugene. Laurus | Russian healer – faith in a plague

Ethical considerations

Ansay, A. Manette. River Angel: A Novel | modern miracle or hoax
Atwood, Margaret. Orxy and Crake | social inequality et. al.
Carr, J.L. A Month in the Country | life after war
Carrere, Emmanuel with Coverdale, Linda, translator. Class Trip: A Novel | effect of crime on family
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World | cloning et. al.
Erofeev, Venedikt. Moscow to the End of the Line | alcoholism, angels and society.
Hamsun, Knut. Dreamers | morals in a small town
Hamsum, Knut. Hunger | early existentialism
Irving, John. Cider House Rule | abortion
Ishiguro, Kazuo. Never Let Me Go | cloning for organ donation
Kincaid, Jamaica. Autobiography of my mother | abortion
Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird | prejudice and discimination
Mamet, David. The Old Religion | racism, justice
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts | socially sanctioned violence
Okuizumi, Hikaru. The Stones Cry Out | coping with memories
Rio, Michel. Parrot’s Perch | recovery from torture
Russell, Mary Doria. The Sparrow
Strangerup, Henrik. Brother Jacob | real life experience of God
Yoshimura, Akira. On Parole | guilt and redemption

Hagiography

Anouilh, Jean. The Lark | Joan of Arc
Bolt, Robert. A Man for All Seasons | Thomas More
Brecht, Bertolt. Saint Joan of the Stockyards
Brenton, Howard. Paul
Donne, John. “Ignatius His Conclave”
Eliot, T. S. Murder in the Cathedral | Thomas Becket; Nobel Prize for Literature 1948
Flaubert. “La Légende de Saint Julien l’Hospitalier”
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
Hopkins, Gerard Manley. “For a Picture of Saint Dorothea”
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 | Pope Gregory; Nobel Prize in Literature 1929
Rossetti, Christina. Some Feasts and Fasts | John, Holy Innocents, Peter, Paul, Mark ...
Shaw, George Bernard. St. Joan. A Chronicle Play in Six Scenes and an Epilogue
Tennyson, Lord Alfred. “St. Simeon Stylites”
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
Wilde, Oscar. Salome

Other religious themes

Barnhardt, Wilton. Gospel: A Novel
Bernanos, George. The Diary of a Country Priest
Berry, Wendell. The Memory of Old Jack |Book 1 of Port William series
Berry, Wendell. A Place of Earth |Book 2 of Port William series
Berry, Wendell. Remembering |Book 3 of Port William series
Berry, Wendell. Two More Stories of the Posrt William Membership |Book 4 of Port William series
Berry, Wendell. A World Lost |Book 5 of Port William series
Berry, Wendell. Jayber Crow |Book 6 of Port William series
Berry, Wendell. That Distant Land |Book 7 of Port William series
Berry, Wendell. Andy Catlett |Book 8 of Port William series
Berry, Wendell. Nathan Coulter |Book 9 of Port William series
Berry, Wendell. Whitefoot |Book 10 of Port William series
Berry, Wendell. A Place in Time |Book 11 of Port William series
Cather, Willa. Death Comes for the Archbishop
Church, F. Forrester and Mulry, Terrence J. The Macmillan Book of Earliest Christian Hymns
Citino, David. The Book of Appassionata: Collected Poems
Craig, Davie and McCann, Janet editors. Place of Passage: Contemporary Poetry
Deane, John F. editor Irish Poetry of Faith and Doubt: The Cold Heaven
Eco, Umberto. The Name of the Rose
Endo, Shusaku. Silence
Firbank, Ronald. Santal
Gordon, Lucy. Sparrow
Green, Hannah. Little Saint | reaction to Saint Foy
Hansen, Ron. Mariette in Ecstasy
Hassler, Jon. Staggerford | part of the Staggerford series;
Hassler, Jon. The Staggerford Flood | part of the Staggerford series;
Hassler, Jon. The Staggerford Murders | part of the Staggerford series;
Hassler, Jon. The New Woman | part of the Staggerford series;
Hassler, Jon. Dear James | part of the Staggerford series; a Loyola Classic
Horgan, Oayl. Things as They Are | a Loyola Classic
Jabes, Edmond. The Book of Margins
Karon, Jan. At Home in Mitford | The Mitford series 1
Karon, Jan. A Light in the Window | The Mitford series 2
Karon, Jan. These High, Green Hills | The Mitford series 3
Karon, Jan. Out to Canaan | The Mitford series 4
Karon, Jan. A New Song | The Mitford series 5
Karon, Jan. A Common Life | The Mitford series 6
Karon, Jan. In This Mountain | The Mitford series 7
Karon, Jan. Shepherds Abiding | The Mitford series 8
Karon, Jan. Light from Heaven | The Mitford series 9
Karon, Jan. Home to Holly Springs | The Mitford series 10
Karon, Jan. In the Company of Others | The Mitford series 11
Karon, Jan. Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good | The Mitford series 12
Karon, Jan. Come Rain or Come Shine | The Mitford series 13
Maurensig, Paolo. Canone Inverso | musicians as descendants of Cain?
Melville, Pauline. The Ventriloquist’s Tale
O’Connor, Edwin. The Edge of Sadness | a Loyola Classic
Pelevin, Victor The Blue Lantern: Stories | gender identity, world perspective
Prudentius with Slavitt, David R. translator. Hymns of Prudentius: The Cathemerinon; or, The Daily Round by Aurelius Prudentius Clemens
Restrepo, Laura. The Angel of Galilea
Robinson, Marilynne. Gilead | spiritual battles of America
Robinson, Marilynne. Hone | book 2 of Gilead series
Robinson, Marilynne. Lila | book 3 of Gilead series
Robinson, Marilynne. Jack | book 4 of Gilead series
Salzman, Mark. Lying Awake
Stenius, Göran. The Bells of Rome

Holocaust

Appelfeld, Aharon. Badenheim 1939
Appelfeld, Aharon. The Age of Wonders
Appelfeld, Aharon. Tzili
Appelfeld, Aharon. The Retreat
Appelfeld, Aharon. To the Land of Cattails
Appelfeld, Aharon. The immortal Bartfuss
Appelfeld, Aharon. For Every Sin
Appelfeld, Aharon. Katerina
Hoffmann, Yoel. Katschen and The Book of Joseph
Hoffmann, Yoel. Bernhard
Keneally, Thomas. Schinder’s List
Kosiński , Jerzy. The Painted Bird
Moran, Thomas. The Man in the Box
Perec, George W, or the Memory of Childhood
Sebald, W. G. The Emigrants
Styron, William. Sophie’s Choice
Wiesel, Elie. The Night Trilogy: Night, Dawn, Day aka The Accident

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