★★★★★ 5
Warning: You will want to read the classics after you read this book!
Format: Hardcover
This book beautifully captures what I didn’t realize was possible until I got to college: That the Lord can speak through great literature. When I was younger I largely avoided reading any fiction books because I felt guilty for not reading my Bible (but for some reason my apologetic books were ok? Lol). However, this book seeks to show (and I think accomplishes quite well) that great literature isn’t a hinderance to the Christian life but actually serves to cultivate a deep and thoroughly Christian imagination. Great literature has the capacity to convict you of your sins, to invoke worship and prayer, and to cultivate our desire to live lives of virtue. Great literature is a mirror through which you can examine your own way of life, but it also acts as a lens through which you can see with fresh eyes the world around you.
The author presents a lot of helpful practical advice in here too. Like how to know if a book is worth reading, different ways to approach reading books, as well as a thoughtful critique of the bad logic often used in Christian circles to avoid reading great literature.
“In a world that tries to convince us that we are computers or animals, that treats us like automatons or worker bees, what better protest than the reading life? If we are to be fully human, we must practice human acts— civility, creativity, contemplation, charity.”
All four of these acts are intertwined with reading great books! So let’s get to it!
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Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2023
