I grew up in an evangelical community.
I’m also a writer and a reader of inspirational fiction. (Although I read general market fiction and well and read widely.)
I found this nonfiction book utterly fascinating and liked hearing about the history, the first precursors to novels, how the different influences of societal ideas, religious ideas, and literature have all impacted each other. The first chapter may be a little slow for some readers, but it picked up after that, and because I found the subject interesting it kept me listening. I got the audiobook and felt the narration was well done.
As like many people in the Christian community, I’ve been examining my faith traditions, and books of this sort are helpful when trying to understand how we got to where we are today. I have always enjoyed reading history and trying to puzzle out how different events shaped society.
I would describe this book as somewhat scholarly but accessible. If you like history or are curious about how today’s attitudes and beliefs systems came into being, or if you are interested in learning about and exploring the culture’s effect on literature and vice versa, you might enjoy this book.
I was particularly fascinated by the origin of the novel as story, how the form was influenced, and how the current structure and format of today’s novels came into being.
Recommended.
Donna Jo Stone 