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Summary: Wonderful allegory of the Christian life.
Review: "The Pilgrim's Progress" is widely known and widely imitated. Perhaps a bit too widely. While the book itself is stunning, having seen, heard, or read so many attempts to imitate it, I found that the original effect of the story was lessened for me.By all means, this book should be read -- it is in itself a great work of literature, and it is a prime example of Puritan thought. Be aware, however, that much of it will seem trite and worn -- not because of anything inherently wrong with Bunyan's writing -- primarily because we have all heard so many poor imitations that it will be difficult to put them aside. However, this book still warrants a reading for the simple fact that it is a great story! I shall be re-reading this in the not-too-distant future, hopefully better prepared to dismiss the memories of the imitations and to appreciate the genius of Bunyan's allegory. Read it!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful allegory of the Christian life.
Review: "The Pilgrim's Progress" is widely known and widely imitated. Perhaps a bit too widely. While the book itself is stunning, having seen, heard, or read so many attempts to imitate it, I found that the original effect of the story was lessened for me. By all means, this book should be read -- it is in itself a great work of literature, and it is a prime example of Puritan thought. Be aware, however, that much of it will seem trite and worn -- not because of anything inherently wrong with Bunyan's writing -- primarily because we have all heard so many poor imitations that it will be difficult to put them aside. However, this book still warrants a reading for the simple fact that it is a great story! I shall be re-reading this in the not-too-distant future, hopefully better prepared to dismiss the memories of the imitations and to appreciate the genius of Bunyan's allegory. Read it!
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Summary: A good moral story for this day and time.
Review: David Suchet did an excellent job reading for all the characters! Christian was wonderfully portrayed and the walk through the valley of death was very realistic!!! This story is great on tape ... more interesting than the reading of it. I was able to imagine the scenes better, like Vanity Fair and the time spent with the Giant. I still felt bad for Ignorance by story's end. His slip into Hell was more vivid in this version. I highly recommend David Suchet's reading of this endless tale.
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Summary: These Naxos Audiobooks are in a League of Their Own
Review: I have to admit that I've never been a fan of Pilgrim's Progress. Despite the fact that I usually like all sorts of folk art and corny stuff in general, this ham-fisted allegory just seemed too weird---too kooky. Yet Edward de Souza's *reading* of the text turns the thing into a work of art. I'm a voracious consumer of audiobooks, and I have to say that De Souza's performance for Naxos here is the best I've ever heard. The dramatic pause---almost as if perhaps he's thinking up the name---just before he tells you the goofy name of each new character, turns what I used to consider the most annoying aspect of the book, into the most charming instead. Bravo. And it's not just this book. From the opening strains of the fine, authentic 17th century music, you're at once made to know that Naxos has thankfully brought the art of the audiobook out of the dark ages. I have bought a few Naxos titles and found each more impressive than the last. Great job.
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Summary: Pilgrim's Progress stands with the world's best literature.
Review: I read The Pilgrim's Progress as a child and recently reread it in order to do a comparative essay on allegorical journeys for my english class. The other book I read for the assignment was Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, and I found that Bunyan's novel equaled or exceeded Conrad's in every way. While Conrad used far more symbolism and allusions, I felt that Bunyan still did a better job of making the reader identify with his character's journey. The Pilgrim's Progress is a wonderfully written story that inspires hope and confidence in God to help his people though their own journeys.
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Summary: Review *THIS* edition of the book!
Review: I would like to see a review of this Element Classics of World Spirituality edition of Pilgrim's Progress. I realize that it is a widely read book, but which edition is best? Is *THIS* edition good? There's been about 500 different editions of this book since the time it was written! Someone please write a review of *THIS* edition! Please ignore my rating. It is not valid. I had to put something there to publish this message.
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Summary: A True Classic
Review: Is this book a classic or what? No other book has ever sold as many copies as this one, save one Holy Bible. And there's no wonder why. It's timeless. If you don't mind reading seventeenth century literature, please pick this book up and read it. The first part of the book is an allegory of one Christian on his journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Forsaking all he knows, all he owns to take a blind leap of faith into the unknown, Christian meets with many trials and tribulations. The second part of the book for me was just as good, as a matter of fact, a bit more touching as I had standing water in my eyes in a few places. I won't go into detail what happens in the second part, but it was quite pleasant for me. Who would I recommend it to? Heck, anyone who likes to read will not waste there time on this one. Just remember, it is written in 17th century old english.
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Summary: Bunyan vs. The World
Review: John Bunyan confronts the world head on in his allegory The Pilgrim's Progress. Using the journey, conversations, actions, and interactions of his main character, Christian, Bunyan draws contrasts between true Christianity and the vast array of opposing philosophies and opinions offered by the rest of the world. Each contrast demonstrates the superiority of Christianity to the perspectives and beliefs of the fallen world. The story is told through the use of a narrative device. That devise is that of the narrator himself recounting his dream in which Christian makes his way to the Celestial City. The device serves to put the action of the story in context as well as a way break up the story into manageable segments. A key phrase often used in service of this device is: "then I saw in my dream". The narrator's dream begins in the City of Destruction; which is Christian's homeland. As Christian Journeys to the celestial city, he encounters many people and trials. Each one is representative of various worldly, or otherworldly philosophies or beliefs. Bunyan has in all these encounters faced the problem of the truth of Christianity. If Christianity is true, how come there are all these alternative ideas in the world. Bunyan successfully exposes the weaknesses of the alternative ideas by refuting them one by one in the context of his pilgrimage allegory. Through his characters, Bunyan agrees with the apostle Paul. His argument is that our best weapon as Christians (once we have accepted Christ as our Savior and realized that only his grace is sufficient to save us) is to keep our eyes on God and the things of heaven (Colossians 3:2). All the arguments presented by the characters contrary to Christianity in this book add up to meaningless noise compared to the word of God and the truth expressed therein. Bunyan takes great care to steer clear of the idea that Christians are somehow intrinsically better than other people. He is careful to express that only God's grace working within them makes them capable of withstanding the trials of life. He demonstrates time and again that Christian suffers from the same weaknesses as normal people and is therefore prone to failure. It is only the love and assistance of God that allow Christian to reach his destination. God's grace and God's grace alone are sufficient to save Christian from the perils he encounters in his journey. Any time Christian attempts to do something of his own accord, his plans go horribly wrong and God must rescue him. The second part is about the travels and trials of Christian's wife: Christiana. It too is very instructive and entertaining. Pilgrim's Progress is insightful as an allegory. It is instructive and would be useful reading for anyone currently alive and making there way through our current sojourn or "pilgrimage" here on earth. Anyone going to the real Celestial City would profit from taking a glance at this book as they walk along the narrow path. I recommend it.
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Summary: One of the most AWESOME books I've ever read !
Review: John Bunyan's, "Pilgrim's Progress"has to be one of the most captivating books ever written. This book should be "required reading" in today's school system. From the verybeginning Mr.Bunyan spins the tale of a journey that is most fantastic! Thur perils unbeliveable he somehow overcomes tremendous odds ofcompleting it. But yet he does andthe rewards are magnificent. A MUSTFOR ANYONE BORN AGAIN!!!!!
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Summary: Serious Theology Within a Simple Fable
Review: Like an epic Christian equivalent of an Aesop's fable, Banyan's timeless classic presents the very heart of Christian theology in a charming and easy-to-understand manner. A must-read for people of all ages, and for Christians of all levels of faith. Highly recommended.
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