Haunted by Christ

Author Richard Harries
Publisher SPCK £9.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780281079339

This is a very ambitious book. A testament to a lifetime of reading and thinking about all aspects of theology, it strives to give a picture of twenty writers whose struggle for faith, or rejection of it, has been central to their work. From Dostoevsky to Marilynne Robinson, via Hopkins, Beckett, Auden, Eliot and Golding to name but a few, each chapter begins with a brief biography of the author under discussion. If you already know the life and work of a particular author well, then you may not find much new to stimulate thought. If, on the other hand, you have never tried Stevie Smith or Elizabeth Jennings, for example, then this might just prompt you to take up their work and discover a fresh voice. I found the chapter on the competing myths of C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman particularly interesting. It might well form the basis for a discussion in a Christian book group.

KIRSTY ANDERSON