<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Great literary criticism of the Christian "Mythmakers"
Review: In this relatively short work, Rolland Hein manages to successfully review and critique the works of many Christian authors who created mythological stories. The critiques, ranging from Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" to Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," are arranged chronologically, beginning with Dante and ending with contemporary 'mythmakers.' The reviews not only cover the works and the Christian elements in them, they also provide useful information and good insight into the lives of these men and women. Quotes are presented, giving the authors' views on the art of Christian mythmaking and their attitudes toward the various ways we can discover truth. This book is excellent. It is very well-written, and thoughtfully organized. The insight it provides on such authors as Tolkien, Lewis, and MacDonald is invaluable. If you are interested in one or more of these authors, get this book--it may help you to better understand them or even discover new authors and new worlds to explore.
Rating:
Summary: Entering into the Myth that became Fact
Review: This is one of the best introductions to popular Christian fiction that seeks to draw the reader into the world of meaning. too often modern literature, following earlier reductionist authors, strips the inner meaning of life away, leaving a dark, bleak universe void of any real and lasting meaning by which the reader can transcend the shadows of life. The authors covered in this short intro do the opposite by enlivening the universe with meaning, playfulness, sobriety, and joy. Lewis, Chesterton, Bunyan, Charles Williams, George MacDonald, Tolkien, L'Engle, and Walter Wangerin are discussed individually with a fantastic apologia for their literary forms as an introduciton. A great read! Enjoy!
<< 1 >>
| 
