Catholic fiction books?

[mommyof4]

Please post your thoughts upon finishing it. I’d love to hear what you think.

–Bill

Finished it just last night. It was a very good read. It gave me a lot to think about. Unfortunatly, I saw myself and some of my attitudes in the “bad guys.” Maybe I need to rethink some of my attitudes and beliefs???

So what book comes next? The way the book left off, it seemed as there needs to be a sequel to it. Anyone know?

 

[lizaanne]

Yes, he’s my husband, and yes I may be a bit biased…

But if anyone has enjoyed the Narnia stories, you will LOVE this story King Edmund’s Crusade. It is a grown up story of conversion, and VERY Catholic.

A modern day lapsed Catholic business woman finds herself in the world of Narnia, taken there by a “man” she meets in a coffee shop. Who is he really? And how does this amazing tale bring her back to her Faith?

It really is extremely well written, as you can see by all the wonderful reviews he has received.

~Liza

 

[mommyof4]

I love:heart: the Narnia stories - thank you for the reference to this book. I’ll start it in the next day or so!

 

[Caesar]

I finished The Name of the Rose by Umberto Ecco last week. It was very good, and I enjoyed the medieval politics and the (from what I have heard) accurate depiction of monastic life in the middle ages. Besides, I have always loved a good mystery.

I just started another one of Ecco’s books, Baudolino, which is also set in the middle ages and draws on the politics and society of that time.

I have been hearing good things about this Children of the Last Days series by Michael O’Brien. I searched for the first book, Father Elijah in a couple bookstores, but have so far been unable to find it.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I used to read a lot of novels, usualy a few at a time, but I gave that up for the most part after reading the Da Vinci Code when I discovered how some novels that are purely fiction can twist the truth and cause harm to the Church and false ideas in society. So for a couple of years I was only re-reading old books, like The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (my two favorites which I have read every year since I was a child- as a side note, once you start looking in the right places, you can find many Catholic themes in Tolkien’s works: not allegory as you will find with Lewis, but themes that are undeniably Catholic). But now I want to re-enter the world of fiction, so I decided to start with some books that have Catholic themes or storylines involving the Church (in positive or neutral ways).

 

[mommyof4]

I have been hearing good things about this Children of the Last Days series by Michael O’Brien. I searched for the first book, Father Elijah in a couple bookstores, but have so far been unable to find it.
.

Try amazon.com - that’s where I got mine.

Very good - I would recommend it.

 

[Caesar]

Try amazon.com - that’s where I got mine.

Very good - I would recommend it.

Yes, I might do that.

 

[AquinaSavio]

Thanks for all the suggestions

**Being educated through Seton, I’ve had the opportunity to read several great Catholic works:

Beorn the Proud
*The Hidden Treasure of Glasbury *- Eleanore Jewett
*The Son of Charlemagne *
The Bridge of San Luis Rey - Thornton Wilder
The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien (my favorite )

 

[Caesar]

**Being educated through Seton, I’ve had the opportunity to read several great Catholic works:

Beorn the Proud**
*The Hidden Treasure of Glasbury *- Eleanore Jewett
*The Son of Charlemagne *
*The Bridge of San Luis Rey *- Thornton Wilder
The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien (my favorite )

Ah yes, the Silmarillion is a literary masterpiece

 

[AquinaSavio]

Ah yes, the Silmarillion is a literary masterpiece

Cool, then you’ve read it! That is my favorite book of all time (excluding religious works, of course). I practically had it memorized at one time. I’m a little geeky when it comes to LOTR.

 

[Caesar]

Cool, then you’ve read it! That is my favorite book of all time (excluding religious works, of course). I practically had it memorized at one time. I’m a little geeky when it comes to LOTR.

Ah, a fellow Tolkien geek

I make it a point to read the Silmarillion, the Hobbit and LoTR at least once a year. Tolkien’s works are masterpieces are many levels, and at their core are themes that reflect the Catholic faith.

Perhaps a CAF needs a Tolkien fan club

 

[Semper_Fi_1]

What are some good novels that deal with or have been inspired by Catholicism?

The Lord of the Rings.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Rings

I haven’t read many Catholic novels, but you can pick some up from catholicity.com/.

 

[AquinaSavio]

Ah, a fellow Tolkien geek

I make it a point to read the Silmarillion, the Hobbit and LoTR at least once a year. Tolkien’s works are masterpieces are many levels, and at their core are themes that reflect the Catholic faith.

Perhaps a CAF needs a Tolkien fan club

**Ah, I’m really excited now! I can never talk to anyone about LOTR because they think I’m too geeky!

I try to read them annually, but my school load has prevented that during the last few years (I’ve been working year-round).

Why don’t you be club president? **

 

[tkdnick]

I would suggest any and all of Louis de Wohl’s novels.

I concur. Great historical fiction books about the lives of the saints!

 

[bluerose]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Joan1969 forums.catholic-questions.org/images/buttons_cad/viewpost.gif
I would suggest any and all of Louis de Wohl’s novels.

I concur. Great historical fiction books about the lives of the saints!

And start with “The Spear”! It’s only logical!

 

[tkdnick]

And start with “The Spear”! It’s only logical!

Yes, definitely. It took me about half of the book to catch up with the story cuz I’m apparently a little slow.

 

[Mot_Juste]

Finished it just last night. It was a very good read. It gave me a lot to think about. Unfortunatly, I saw myself and some of my attitudes in the “bad guys.” Maybe I need to rethink some of my attitudes and beliefs???

So what book comes next? The way the book left off, it seemed as there needs to be a sequel to it. Anyone know?

It was recommended to me to read Father Elijah first, then the trilogy of Strangers and Sojourners, Plague Journal, and Eclipse of the Sun. I found Strangers and Sojourners to be a more difficult read. It didn’t pull me along the way Father Elijah did. BUT, it does set the story up for the next two, and they were amazing. There are moments in Eclipse of the Sun that hit me like a hammer.

–Bill

 

[wabrams]

Haven’t heard anyone mention the Divine Comedy.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

Ah yes, the Silmarillion is a literary masterpiece

There is also plenty of theology in it - just as there is in the Narnia books ​

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

Haven’t heard anyone mention the Divine Comedy.

In Italian or translation ?​

IMHO, the best English translation is that by Dorothy Sayers & Barbara Reynolds - the notes are particularly good; outstanding, in fact.

If mediaeval lit. is allowed, maybe Piers Plowman ought to be mentioned - & Chaucer, of course. ##

 

[Semper_Fi_1]

Haven’t heard anyone mention the Divine Comedy.

I believe that the Divine Comedy is the first form of what we can really call a novel in European literature (this depends on whether or not you want to call the Greek philosophers poetic works novels).