Reading Between the Lines: A Christian Guide to Literature

Here is a guidebook for those who want to learn how to recognize books that are spiritually and aesthetically good--to cultivate good literary taste. Gene Edward Veith presents basic information to help book lovers understand what they read--from the classics to the bestsellers. He explains how the major genres of literature communicate. He explores ways comedy, tragedy, realism, and fantasy can portray the Christian worldview. These discussions lead to a host of related topics--the value of fairy tales for children, the tragic and the comic sense of life, the interplay between Greek and Biblical concepts in the imagination, and the new "post-modernism" (a subject of vital importance to Christians).

In the pages of this book, readers will meet writers, past and present who carry on a great literary tradition. By supporting worthy authors, Christians can exert a powerful influence on their culture.

"What a superb resource this is! It resonates with profound perceptions of how good literature works to enrich and illuminate us. Dr. Veith proves himself once again to be a knowledgeable guide through the landscape of the written word." --Luci Shaw, author of God in the Dark and Polishing the Petoskey Stone

"Veith makes it clear that the joys of reading can be deep joys of the type which can enliven our souls. This book should raise significantly the cultural level of evangelicalism." --Dr. Edward E. Ericson, Jr., Calvin College

"Reading Between the Lines is thoroughly readable and thoroughly literate--a magnificent blending of history, literature, and theology that will be welcomed by professionals and laity alike." --Dr. Wayne Martindale, Wheaton College

"Ed Veith has written on important topics with his usual clarity, good sense, organizing ability, and comprehensiveness. The scope of the project is impressive." --Dr. Leland Ryken, Wheaton College