I’ll just warn you, this is going to be a different kind of book review. I don’t generally read Christian fiction. But, there were extenuating circumstances, so over the last couple of days I read a Christian novel.
Despite the fact that I totally agree with Shauna’s post about fiction (although I won’t comment on her blog because it seems that I might be the only dude who reads it), this Christian fiction book was simply the worst.
First, it was preachy. One of the things I love about fiction is when it causes me to think about life & issues – without coming right out and saying “think about this!” This book was most decidedly not like that. It straight up preached. I found myself skipping pages and whole chapters of “the character went to church and this is what the pastor said,” or “two characters meet in a coffee shop to talk about what pastor do.” Boring & terribly uncreative.
Guess what? The main character rededicated his life to God, and then his career took off, he helped solve a murder, forgave his ex-wife and found a new, attractive godly woman to start dating. Apparently, if you follow God you get everything you want.
What probably irritated me the most is that all the characters seemed to have this perfect ability to hear/discern God’s voice, all the time, no questions asked. Maybe there are some people who are so “plugged in” that this is the case. But I think most people really struggle in this regard and it’s not nearly as simple as “God’s telling me right now that we need to leave this place because the bad guy is coming.”
And finally, the writing quality was poor. This was definitely not ”literature.”
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So…..am I missing the part where you tell us what the book is actually called? (could be…I’m on my phone.). But seriously-not to be a complete downer-do any “good” Christan fiction books actually exist??
Um… I actually didn’t say the name of the book. Turns out that I’m distantly related to the author.
Hmmm…I thought the title was “Christian Fiction Book.”
On a related note…the back cover of “What’s so Amazing about Grace” by Phillip Yancey contains this glowing review.
“This is beyond a doubt the very best book I have read from a Christian author in my life.”
Dr. Robert Seiple, President, World Vision
I guess I just wonder where it ranks if you include all the other authors?
Zach, it was confusing. I couldn’t decide if the title was “Shauna’s Post about Fiction” or “Definitely Not Literature.” Charlie, a very sloppy review. How can we rush out and buy dozens of copies for our unsaved friends?
Wait, are we supposed to have unsaved friends? I was not aware…
@Dan Moore – That’s a pretty high endorsement. I would have hard time ranking books. I mean how do you even begin to compare across genres?
However, within the genre of Christian books I would probably put “What’s So Amazing About Grace” in my top 10.
hahaha…
We should have lunch soon. I promise I’ll leave my phone in the car.