What do you think of when someone mentions inspirational/religious* fiction? Wait, wait, I’ll tell you! Romance, historical, Amish, and women’s fiction. I do a lot of work for Christian publishers, and with some exceptions, this is what it’s come to.
A few weeks ago, author/blogger Mike Duran wrote a post (“Christian Fiction Is NOT a Victimless Crime”) that took the industry (that is, the publishers of Christian fiction) to task for this, though I’m not sure it’s fair to blame the publishers. They’re in business to make a profit (that is, to sell books) so they’re giving the market—book-buyers who shop in religious bookstores—what it demands. (Note this distinction. Fiction from religious publishers tends to get lumped together on the “inspirational” shelf in a general market store; a fabulous crime novel might get overlooked among the romances.)
Duran asserts that these other types of fiction—and there is some great stuff coming from these houses, I assure you—is failing to get consumers’ attention because the religious publishers don’t know how to market anything but romance, historical, Amish, and contemporary women’s fiction.
He may be right. But I think it may also be because many readers think they aren’t interested in fiction from a religious publisher. They don’t want to be preached to (I don’t blame them) and fear that’s what they’ll get. (Sometimes it is what they’ll get. But not always.)
And yet … the general market publishers have plenty of literary offerings portraying people of faith—and have had long before publication of Jeannette Oke’s Love Comes Softly in 1979 started the current Christian fiction trend. In a fabulous piece (“Has Fiction Lost Its Faith?”) in the New York Times last year, author Paul Elie comments that “Flannery O’Connor, Walker Percy, Reynolds Price and John Updike presented themselves as novelists with what O’Connor called ‘Christian convictions.’” They wrote stories in which faith was organic to the plot.
They certainly weren’t the only ones. Convictions or no, plenty of authors have written movingly about issues of faith, such as Willa Cather (Death Comes for the Archbishop), Taylor Caldwell (Dear and Glorious Physician), Graham Greene (The Power and the Glory), and Rumer Godden (Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy). I name these books because I’ve read them (and didn’t feel I was being preached to). And there’s something for everyone: Jan Karon’s Mitford series; the Brother Cadfael series from Edith Pargeter writing as Ellis Peters; the Father Brown stories by G. K. Chesterton; even the crime series from Ian Rankin featuring Inspector John Rebus, a man of faith who is torn sometimes between doing what’s right as a cop and doing what’s right as he believes God would want.
Want to read some great literary fiction from contemporary authors writing about characters with convictions? These books happen to feature characters who have or struggle with faith in a way that is organic to the plot. Here are a few I’d recommend:
Coal Tattoo, The / Silas House (or Clay’s Quilt)
Devil’s Dream, The / Lee Smith
Heaven Lake / John Dalton
Father Melancholy’s Daughter / Gail Godwin
Gilead / Marilynne Robinson (won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005)
I Am Forbidden / Anouk Markovits
Land of Decoration, The / Grace McCleen
Little Wolves / Thomas Maltman
Movement of Stars, The / Amy Brill
Peace Like a River / Leif Enger
Mike Duran’s post makes some interesting points, and he’s not alone in his thinking. But religious publishers are shipping what the patrons of religious bookstores are buying, and that’s romance, historical, Amish, and contemporary women’s fiction.
* I’m mostly referring to Christian fiction, though it doesn’t have to be specifically Christian.
Tweet: These books feature characters who’ve struggled w/ faith in a way that is organic to the plot.
Tweet: What do you think of when someone mentions inspirational/religious fiction?
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”