Reference Reviews

Lawrence Looks at Books

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Fiction: from C.S. Lewis to Left Behind. Nancy M. Tischler. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2009. 978-0-313-34568-5; 2009-18291. $95.

A long-time professor of literature and the humanities, Nancy Tischler has written several reference works on Biblical topics. For her guide to modern fiction, she explores Christian themes in the works of 90 contemporary writers. In this case, “contemporary” applies to authors who have been active since the end of the Second World War. The scope includes the apocalyptic stories of Jerry Jenkins, Tim LaHaye and Michael O’Brien, who have sold millions of books in recent years. However, Tischler sees Christian fiction as far more diverse than such millennium-obsessed sagas. The murder mysteries of P.D. James, the vampire stories of Anne Rice, the historical novels of Gilbert Morris, westerns by Stephen Bly, the romances of Doris Betts, and even the feminist stories of Kaye Gibbons are presented here. So too, are the novels of Margaret Atwood, Dan Brown and others who display a conspicuous suspicion of organized religion. From southern gothics to thrillers, Tischler traces the Christian elements reflected in the characters, plots, themes and symbolism of hundreds of novels. Such motifs appear especially prevalent in the writings of modern Catholics, Quakers, African Americans, southerners and other rural authors who have written of the struggle to accommodate individual identity with family, religion, region or tradition. Thus, the works of James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Flannery O’Connor, Anne Tyler, John Updike, and Alice Walker are examined here. The coverage is overwhelmingly American, but ten British and Canadian writers are featured, including Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Frank Peretti and William Paul Young. The entries begin with succinct summaries of the personal, professional and religious background of each author. Their chief works, themes and critical reception are then reviewed. Major awards are noted, and the bibliographies include works both by and about each writer. Unfortunately, the bibliographies value as a reader’s guide is slightly undermined by the tendency to list only the title of a series and not the individual volumes that make up the series. Nonetheless, Tischler provides fresh and informative guidance to those readers seeking to explore questions of Christianity, religiosity and personal faith in modern novels. Her guide is highly suitable for academic, church and public libraries.