Literature and Theology: a book review

Literature and Theology by Ralph C. Wood

I recently borrowed Literature and Theology by Ralph C. Wood, which consists of theological reflections on seven works of literature:

• Flannery O’Connor’s disturbing short story “The River” and the sacrament of baptism
• Walker Percy’s novel The Moviegoer (which I have not read)
• Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Christian fellowship
• Martyrdom and T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral (with those classic lines “The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason”)
• G. K. Chesterton’s The Ball and the Cross and how one should deal with those with which one strongly disagrees
• C. S. Lewis’s retold myth Till We Have Faces and the relationship between humanity and the Divine
• Walter M. Miller’s post-apocalyptic science fiction novel A Canticle for Leibowitz and human nature

Murder in the Cathedral: the Becket Window, Christ Church, Oxford

I was a little disappointed that Wood confuses the silmarils with the palantíri (p. 29) and misunderstands the nature of science fiction (p. 88), but on the whole this was a good book, and an encouragement to read thoughtfully.

Literature and Theology by Ralph C. Wood: 3½ stars