Catholic fiction books?

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Our Lady Of The Forest was an interesting book.
Written from a very modern prospective about a girl who seems tobe the very last person The Holy Mother would appear to.
I didn’t care much for the ending but you do have the option of making your own decision about the apperitions.
 
How could I forget:

Taylor Caldwell

She was anything but great–she wrote pot boilers, and became more and more of a conspiracy nut before her death as a paranoid shut-in. But she knew how to tell a good story, wrote several novels based on the lives of Paul, Luke, Cicero, etc

Testimony of Two Men was probably her best work–and was made into a 1970s mini-series w/ David Birney
 
That’s right! I forgot Taylor Caldwell.
Captains and The Kings is about a family dynasty that has almost all the characters as Catholics. Not especially good Catholics but Catholics none the less.
 
Genesis315 said:
“The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Ecco is really, really good.

It was actually made into a movie starring Sean Connery. The movie is pretty good, but it really pales in comparison to the book.

It’s basically about some mysterious murders going down in a 14th century Benedictine abbey. If you are interested in theology, philosophy, the Inquisition, historical heresies, and the interplay between Dominicans, Francisicans, Benedictines, and Papal legates, this is the book for you! 😃
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Bought it a couple days ago. I have to admit, it is very good so far 👍
 
I also recommend Bill Kassell.

“Holy Innocents” and “The Jordan River” (the 2nd title has SOMETHIGN to do with the Jordan River, can’t remember the full title).

It’s 2 books which revolve around a parish in a small town and the people in that town. He’s a new author, and I highly recommend him!
 
Caesar said:
What are some good novels that deal with or have been inspired by Catholicism?
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Defining “novel” as “prose fiction from 1700 to the present,” here are some that come to mind:

Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge: about anti-Catholicism more than Catholicism, but an interesting read for its depiction of the “Gordon Riots” in the 1780s (Dickens was no fan of Catholicism, but he was a great humanitarian and loathed bigotry wherever he found it).

Victor Hugo, *Hunchback of Notre Dame *(*Notre-Dame de Paris). *Full of grotesque stereotypes (particularly the sex-obsessed archdeacon as a villain), but since the title character (in the original French) is a Catholic cathedral I’d say this counts!

Francois-Rene Chateaubriand: Atala, Rene, and Les Natchez (novels about American Indians and Catholic missionaries, very romantic and over the top–I’ve only read one of them; he also wrote a novel called The Martyrs but I don’t know much about it). Chateaubriand was one of the first great writers of the Catholic revival of the 19th century. He should be read more often than he is, though admittedly he’s a hard read for modern people.

Alessandro Manzoni: *The Betrothed *(I Promessi Sposi). A great historical novel with a Catholic cardinal (brother of St. Charles Borromeo) as one of the main characters and chastity and repentance as major themes.

Charlotte Bronte: *Villette. *A semi-autobiographical novel about a young Protestant teacher working in a Catholic school in Belgium. She falls in love with a Catholic colleague who tries (unsuccessfully) to convert her.

Charles Kingsley, *Hypatia *and *Westward Ho. *Viciously anti-Catholic (particularly the latter), but good reads. Hypatia deals with what Kingsley thought was the beginning of the Middle Ages (not a good thing in his book) in the 5th century, focusing on the brutal murder of a pagan philosopher by monks. Westward Ho is the great epic of English anti-Catholicism (unless you count Spenser’s Faerie Queene!), dealing with the Elizabethan era (the climactic event is the Spanish Armada, of course). Very painful reading for Catholics, so recommended only with great caution.

John Henry Newman, *Loss and Gain. *An autobiographical novel about conversion to Catholicism in 19th-century England. Not a great novel but very interesting for its long theological discussions! Newman also wrote a novel about early Christianity (in part to counter Kingsley), *Callista. *I regret that I have not yet read this work.

Henryk Sienkiewicz, *Quo Vadis. *Maybe the greatest of the (far too many) novels about the persecution of Christians under Nero. A bit sensationalized but with marvellous passages (particularly the closing peroration), and a great character in Petronius (who IMHO steals the show away from the romantic lovers). There was a movie of this (actually several, but this is the one I’ve partially seen) with Peter Ustinov as Nero–very creepy.
 
R. H. Benson–many novels, all with a Catholic theme (Benson was a convert from Anglicanism). Here are the ones I’ve read: *Lord of All *is a fascinating apocalyptic novel set roughly in our times (but written about 100 years ago!). It’s a lot like O’Brien’s *Father Elijah, *but on the whole I’d say it’s better. Benson wrote another futuristic novel, *Dawn of All, *which imagines a world in which Catholicism has triumphed. I’ve also read his historical novel The King’s Achievement, about Henry VIII and the beginning of the Anglican schism. (He wrote other novels about Catholics under persecution in Elizabethan England, but I haven’t read them yet.) I think I’ve read another of his books about a married couple who go through a spiritual crisis (resulting in the wife’s becoming a nun!) after the husband has a near-death experience, but I can’t remember the title and I’m not 100% sure he wrote it.

G. K. Chesterton. Where to begin? The *Father Brown *mysteries are great fun usually with some kind of Catholic moral. *The Ball and the Cross *is my personal favorite–it’s about a Catholic and an atheist who wander around England (and the Channel Islands!) trying to find a quiet spot in which to have a duel about the existence of God. It also involves a mystical Bulgarian monk and an insane asylum run by the devil. . . . Chesterton’s other novels are less explicit in their Catholic references, though they are all worth reading.

I could go on and on and on, but I’ll stop here. There are lots of 20th-century writers that fit the bill, but hopefully I’ve awakened some curiosity about some of the older ones! Here are just a few authors’ names, many of which have been mentioned already:

Sigrid Undset
Evelyn Waugh
Graham Greene
J.R.R. Tolkien
Flannery O’Connor
Walker Percy
Francois Mauriac

. . . . .

Have fun!

Edwin
 
I would suggest *The Song of Bernadette *by Franz Werfel. It is a beautiful retelling (as a novel) of the story of St Bernadette and her visions of Our Lady of Lourdes. I read it years ago and found it very inspiring. There was a movie version made in 1943 with Jennifer Jones, I believe. I remember reading that the author was actually Jewish but was inspired to write the story when he was helped to escaped the Nazis in Lourdes.
 
Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey/Maturin novels (all 21 of them).

Stephen Maturin is a Catholic Irish/Catalan doctor living in Protestant, mildly anti-catholic English Naval society. O’Brien writes him as a faithful, if troubled Catholic who defends and promotes his faith.

These are wonderful, beautifully written novels. Not primarily about Catholicism, but with an intriguing, dynamic Catholic character.
 
I always recommend Marcus Grodi’s “How Firm a Foundation”!👍

And if you love suspense, Mary Higgins Clark’s novels usually have a Catholic main character (who is usually a woman, so her books may not appeal to most men) and she usually weaves in some Catholic actions (attending Mass, making the sign of the cross, having a bishop for an old family friend, etc.)

Just avoid “Weep No More, My Lady” and “Stillwatch”… those are probably the only two books where her main characters were having illicit relations (adultery, fornication). Not that she was graphic about it, but it was jarring to suddenly confront those things in a book by a author I’d come to respect as a good Catholic. Her memoir, “Kitchen Privileges” is also a good read, though not a novel.

And what about Betty Smith’s classic “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”? I have to read that one at least once a year!

And then there’s William E. Barrett. I read “The Empty Shrine” and was quite impressed, but his other books tend to be very dark. Just stick with “The Empty Shrine”.
 
Although not a Catholic author, C.S. Lewis is often revered and credited for the conversion of many to the Catholic Church. His book THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS is one I consider the most important of the 20th century in it’s depiction of spiritual warfare.

If you are not familiar, the structure of the novel is composed of a series of “letters” written by a master demon, to an apprentice demon, guiding the apprentice in how to steer the human subject to hell. Many Catholic themes including the state of grace are in this book.
 
For “inspired by Catholicism”, I suggest (with some bias, as I know the author!) “The Capitol Ghost”. It’s a tween/teen mystery novel, with the mystery revolving around Catholic things, and the two main adult characters being Catholic. It’s not real heavy-handed Catholic, and also has positive treatment of a non-denominational pastor. One big theme of the book is forgiveness and reconcilliation between a father and son.

It’s the second book in a series about a teenage ice skating team. (The first book was “The Scheherazade Curse”.) The Catholic angle was first introduced in Capitol Ghost. There (hopefully!) will be 4 more books in the series, with the characters’ Catholicism playing a bigger role.

You can get “The Capitol Ghost” from iUniverse at iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0-595-41342-0 (you can preview the book there, too) or by special order at any bookstore.
 
Most recently, I read The Road to Damietta by Scott O’Dell. This one tells about St. Francis of Assisi from the viewpoint of Ricca, a daughter of a noble family who is frequently falling. I wrote a review of it for my blog, which does not have much on it-but I am working on that personal project. Feel free to comment.

I read some of the Narnia books in middle and high school, but did not complete the entire series until just last summer. I was volunteering with a ecumenical VBS that was Narnia themed (we have not had our own since background training and Virtus have become requirements for those volunteering with children-not enough parrish adults are able to take them due to various reasons).

In High School, I read the Lillies of the Field Novel (have never seen the movie). It made for a nice, sweet, quick read. The book had probably been in our school’s library since the seventies. According to one of those movie websites that cover every film in existence, the book was written by William Barret.

I appreciate the Brother Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Potter. I was exposed to these through episode’s of Mystery on PBS. I later managed to purchase one of the books from a library booksale-hard cover with the jacket that had an interior asking for donations for the abbey the stories took place in (which really exists). I am not sure if the abbey is still Catholic but it would have been during the time the stories took place.😃
 
Mot_Juste said:
I highly recommend Michael O’Brien’s Children of the Last Days series, beginning with Father Elijah. Here a link to the book at Amazon.

The books are wonderful. Very Catholic, very well-written. Some of them are slower paced and more introspective. Others are really gripping. Some are just heartbreaking.

–Bill
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After I read this post, I bought the book, Father Elijah: An Apocalypse on Amazon. It came the other day, and I started reading it yesterday. I have to say that I am enthralled with it! Thank you for the recommendation.
 
mommyof4 said:
After I read this post, I bought the book, Father Elijah: An Apocalypse on Amazon. It came the other day, and I started reading it yesterday. I have to say that I am enthralled with it! Thank you for the recommendation.
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Please post your thoughts upon finishing it. I’d love to hear what you think.

–Bill
 
sallybirchwood said:
At one time, I loved all three of Bud Macfarlane’s books. Promoted them anytime I could and donated to Catholicity (I have a feeling this pervert is still connected to the organization). No more! Bud divorced his wife for no real reason and than had a court order to remove his children from his wife’s care because she was home schooling them. The man is a complete hypocrite in every way.
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It doesn’t negate the fact that his books are good. And Pierced by a Sword was absolutely instrumental in my being were I am in my Faith today.

No - I don’t like what he did either, but that will not stop me from telling people that his books are excellent examples of modern Catholic fiction.

~Liza
 
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