Favorite Catholic Novels

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EqualinHim

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What are some of your favorite Catholic novels? I read Flannery O’Connor in college and for fluff/leisure reading I like Katherine Valentine (Haunted Rectory, Miracle at St. Cecilia’s).
 
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh is one of my favorite novels and is written by a Catholic.
I am currently reading Lost in the Cosmos by Walker Percy and, 40+ pages in, am looking forward to the succeeding chapters. (I have read two of his other books and appreciate his work).
I have read quite a few novels by Michael D. O’Brien and enjoyed them. My favorite is Island of the World.
 
In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden

Life With Mother Superior by Jane Trahey (this book was made into “The Trouble with Angels” film)

The “Eddie Ryan trilogy” by John R. Powers

The Cardinal by Henry Morton Robinson
 
Note sure which would class as Catholic rather than Catholic themed but…
Frost in May - Antonia White (my favourite book ever!)
The Singer not the Song - Audrey Erskine Lindop
The Power and the Glory - Graham Green
Sacred Hearts - Sarah Dunant
and another vote for In This House of Brede!
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In This House of Brede was excellent. It took me a little bit to get into it but once I did, I read the rest very, very quickly.

Kristin Lavransdatter is also wonderful. It’s actually three novels, but often packaged together. Sigrid Undset is the author, I like the translation by Tina Nunnally.

The Lord of the Rings is probably my favorite of all time, and while not explicitly or allegorically Catholic has tons of Catholic themes.
 
pensmama87 said:
Kristin Lavransdatter
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My all-time fave novel!
Fun fact: when Margaret Mitchell was writing Gone With The Wind (a 10 year project), she read KL. If you’ve read both, you can see there are definite parallels.
Also, the director of GWTW was planning to film KL as his next project and to cast Jennifer Jones as Kristin, but he couldn’t get the rights to the book.

(The other two are good, also)
 
For those of you who like Kristin Lavransdatter, how do you get past the fact that this girl commits one big sin and it ruins her whole life and the lives of others beyond repair? It seems unnecessarily harsh and frankly, at odds with God’s concept of forgiveness and mercy. I had a very hard time reading the book a few decades ago because of that, and finally just gave up. I have been considering giving it another try with the more recent and better translation, but not sure I won’t have the same problem again.
 
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  • A Canticle for Leibowitz
  • Lord of the World
  • Flannery O’Connor’s works
  • The Robe
 
EqualinHim said:
What are some of your favorite Catholic novels?
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What do you mean by a Catholic novel? The author is Catholic? Or the protagonists are Catholic? Or perhaps the book is about Catholic values or centered around events in Catholic history?
 
Augustinian said:
What do you mean by a Catholic novel? The author is Catholic? Or the protagonists are Catholic? Or perhaps the book is about Catholic values or centered around events in Catholic history?
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I think it was the OP’s intention to allow each one of us to make that decision for ourselves.,
My choice is Helena, a historical novel by Evelyn Waugh.
 
That wasn’t the takeaway I had. That sin did affect the course of her life, which is realistic, but the “message” didn’t strike me as God being harsh or cruel. Kristin was also stubborn and hardheaded and proud, which was a lot more than just that one sin. I also think there’s a difference in her perception vs. the reality of her situation, and it reflects something about the historical Catholicism of that setting.
 
A Canticle for Leibowitz is very good. I’d also recommend the Power and the Glory by Graham Greene.
 
Actually, Kristin had a pretty good life.
But she does face real consequences–the husband she chooses is careless and unstable, and she lives under a constant pressure because of it.
Also, she has a very hard time forgiving herself. Even though her confessors all tell her that her sins are in the past. But she struggles with pride and a bit of grandiosity.
I like the heroine because sometimes I dont like her. And a lot of times she fails to live up to her own ideals.
I also love the book because I like historical fiction.

But it’s not for everybody. 🙂
 
Exiles by Ron Hansen
The Louis de Wohl books on the lives of the saints.
The Power and the Glory
 
The Devil Hates Latin by Katharine Galgano
Devil’s Advocate by Morris West
Father Elijah by Michael D O’Brien
 
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