A(nother) Novel Every Christian Should Consider Reading

Over at The Gospel Coalition, Justin Taylor has wrapped up his terrific series, “Novels Every Christian Should Consider Reading.” Taylor asked more than a dozen Christian writers, educators and ministers what novel they would commend for Christian reading and why. Read through every answer and be prepared to add many titles to your reading list.

I loved this series for several reasons, the first being that whereas non-fiction can usually commend itself to me through its subject matter or author, fiction tends to be a bit different. I’m not as plugged in to the world of creative writing and writers. Many of the books recommended by TGC contributors I had never heard about and probably would have merely passed over in a bookstore. I’ve already been mentally plotting (no pun intended) to begin reading some of these books.

A bigger reason I appreciated the series is that it represented something I’ve felt is lacking in conservative evangelical thought: A passion for storytelling. Christians, particularly Reformed types, have often had an uneven relationship with “pleasure reading” and fiction. Marvin Olasky mentioned this in a World Magazine cover story a few years ago, an article which also solicited book (and movie) recommendations from notable Christians.  Coming through Bible college, it was rare to hear a group of peers discussing their favorite fiction (unless they happened to be in line for a film adaptation). Systematic theologies and Greek grammars for us, thank you very much. Many of us probably felt like stories were missing from our literary life, but we didn’t have time or budget to indulge it.  All that to say, I’m grateful for this series, and I commend it to you for your enjoyment.

Justin Taylor didn’t ask for my recommendation (quite understandable), but I am going to make a minor league contribution anyway.

I read Kazuo Ishiguro’s “The Remains of the Day” earlier this year for the first time, and was spellbound throughout. The vast majority of the novel takes place in the memory of an English butler named Stevens. As the book opens Stevens is taking a trip through English countryside to pay a visit to a friend and former employee, Miss Kenton. Their impending reunion is the pivot from which Stevens narrates the story of his service under Lord Darlington.

Most readers will probably think of the romantic tension between Stevens and Miss Kenton as the focus of the book. In some ways it is. But at a deeper level “The Remains of the Day” is about regret. It exemplifies Kierkegaard’s famous observation that life is lived forwards and learned backwards.

Stevens is a man who believed dignity was the highest virtue to which he could aspire. His loyalty to this virtue shaped his life. As he travels to reunite with the friend who could have been his lover, Stevens wonders whether his pursuit of dignity has allowed life to pass him by. He questions his faithfulness to Lord Darlington, recounting his refusal to see that his master was a Nazi sympathizer leading up to WWII.

In a deeply realistic and heartbreaking scene, Stevens ignores his father who is on his deathbed, electing instead to continue working and maintaining dignified service to his employer. The Herculean effort employed by Stevens to avoid confronting the emotional reality of his dying father reveals a man religiously committed to not showing his raw humanity. The paradox of the novel is that, as Stevens sits and contemplates his life, he is left to wonder what his humanity would have looked like had he shown it.

One of the reasons this book affected me is that as I get older, I grapple more often with regret. I don’t mean the momentary kind when I say something out of anger or publicly embarrass myself or someone else. I mean the midnight kind of regret, the regret that won’t let me feel hopeful about the future for feeling liable for the past. I suspect others experience this as well. Though Stevens concludes that his life may not have been exactly what he wished it to be, he realizes that every day is new, and that the time he has now can be lived to the fullest with hope.

This book will, I believe, give an emotional catharsis to those struggling with regret. Though it doesn’t contain explicit biblical wisdom, Ishiguro’s book inspires the reader to look beyond what might have been and see what is. This accords with Paul’s commitment to forget what is behind and press forward to what is ahead. I hope you’ll consider reading this novel for your pleasure and joy.