Religion & Spirituality

In this collection we've gathered fiction and nonfiction texts that address humanity's age-old search for meaning and purpose within a higher power.

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

by Harold S. Kushner

Publication year 1981

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Forgiveness

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Self-Improvement, Jewish Literature, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy

Written by Rabbi Harold Kushner, When Bad Things Happen to Good People is a contemplation on the death of his son due to a degenerative disease, progeria. As a devout man, Kushner’s first response was to ask, 'Why? Why did God permit such suffering?' The book documents Kushner’s grappling with this question, the doubts and fears it triggered, and offers others afflicted by grief comfort and solace. It proposes that while God desires to ease... Read When Bad Things Happen to Good People Summary

When Crickets Cry

by Charles Martin

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Christian, Modern Classic Fiction, Inspirational, Religion & Spirituality

Winner of the 2007 Christian Book Award, Charles Martin’s 2006 novel, When Crickets Cry: a Novel of the Heart, is a work of Christian fiction set in rural Georgia. It tells the story of Reese, a former heart surgeon who’s hiding from his past and his relationship with Annie, a hopeful little girl with a failing heart. When these two characters unexpectedly cross paths, their stories become intertwined, bringing healing to Reese’s past and hope... Read When Crickets Cry Summary

White Is for Witching

by Helen Oyeyemi

Publication year 2009

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Family, Hate & Anger, Memory, Mental Health, Appearance & Reality

Tags Horror & Suspense, Fantasy, Gothic Literature, LGBTQ+, Magical Realism, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, Mental Illness, European History, Immigration & Refugeeism, Science Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

White Is for Witching, published in 2009, is Helen Oyeyemi’s third novel, for which she received the Somerset Maugham Award. A finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award, White Is for Witching explores both traditional horror and the horrors of racism. Oyeyemi’s novels often center the experience of historically marginalized groups, which perhaps reflects her own background as a Nigerian-born English citizen who attended Cambridge University. White Is for Witching frames histories of racism as supernatural... Read White Is for Witching Summary

Wise Blood

by Flannery O'Connor

Publication year 1952

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Trust & Doubt

Tags Southern Gothic, Gender & Feminism, Religion & Spirituality, Christian, American Literature, Southern Literature, Gothic Literature, Classic Fiction

Wise Blood is Flannery O’Connor’s first novel, and it is concerned with the journey of a young man named Hazel Motes. At the beginning of the narrative, Motes is traveling to Taulkinham, Tennessee, after fighting for four years in World War II. Before his military service, Motes had always intended to become a preacher like his grandfather before him, but his war experiences cause Motes to become an anti-religious nihilist.After arriving in Taulkinham, Motes encounters a young... Read Wise Blood Summary

Women

by Alice Walker

Publication year 1973

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Mothers

Tags Parenting, African American Literature, Women`s Studies, Gender & Feminism, World History, Arts & Culture, Politics & Government, Religion & Spirituality

... Read Women Summary

Women of Trachis

by Sophocles

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Masculinity, Fate

Tags Classic Fiction, Tragedy, Ancient Greece, Religion & Spirituality, Dramatic Literature, Classical Period, Fantasy

Women of Trachis is a classical Greek tragedy composed by Sophocles (circa 496-406 BCE). The play’s precise dating is unknown, but it is believed to have been produced sometime during the 440s, among Sophocles’ earliest surviving plays, and to have been performed at the City Festival of Dionysus, held in March in Athens. The play itself subverts traditional heroic themes, notably the homecoming hero, the unknowability of the gods, and the importance of pity.Sophocles is... Read Women of Trachis Summary

Women Talking

by Miriam Toews

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Community, Gender Identity

Tags Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, Historical Fiction, Women`s Studies, Modern Classic Fiction, Religion & Spirituality

Miriam Toews’s Women Talking (2018) is a novel set in the fictional Mennonite colony of Molotschna. It follows a group of the colony’s women as they discuss how to respond to the discovery that many of their menfolk have been anesthetizing and raping them for years. The book is inspired by actual events that took place between 2005 and 2009 in a remote Mennonite colony in Bolivia. There, eight men were discovered to have been... Read Women Talking Summary

Women Who Run with the Wolves

by Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Publication year 1992

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Gender Identity

Tags Gender & Feminism, Women`s Studies, Philosophy, Philosophy, Psychology, Psychology, Fantasy, Self-Improvement, Religion & Spirituality

Women Who Run With the Wolves (1992) is the most well-known book by author Clarissa Pinkola Estés. It became a New York Times bestseller and appeared on the bestseller lists of USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, and Library Journal. Other books by the same author include The Gift of Story (1993), The Faithful Gardener (1996), and Untie the Strong Woman (2011). Estés has also recorded numerous audiobooks on related topics. She holds a Ph.D. in psychology... Read Women Who Run with the Wolves Summary

Works and Days

by Hesiod

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Siblings

Tags Religion & Spirituality, Classic Fiction, Ancient Greece, Mythology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classical Period, World History, Fantasy

“Works and Days” is a didactic poem by Hesiod dating to approximately the eighth century BCE. Hesiod begins the poem with the traditional invocation to the muses, but he deviates slightly from this tradition by including personal information; the poem is an explanation of a dispute between Hesiod and his brother Perses over a family inheritance. The poem’s thematic concerns, which Hesiod explores by arguing how harmful his brother’s actions are not only to himself... Read Works and Days Summary

You've Reached Sam

by Dustin Thao

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Love, Hope, Memory, Nostalgia, Revenge, Loneliness, Regret, Death, Coming of Age, The Past, Friendship, Appearance & Reality, Music, Trust & Doubt, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Romance, Magical Realism, Dramatic Literature, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Religion & Spirituality

... Read You've Reached Sam Summary