Can I just get something off my chest? I can’t stand Christian fiction. When a character opens his or her mouth and starts spouting Bible verses or theology, my whole body tenses up. It’s so in-your-face. It yanks me right out of the story and sets my teeth on edge, especially when I see the author needling his audience about his own pet opinion on matters cultural or political.

Worse, most of it is just simply badly written.

Christian literature is already a niche market, unappetizing to the secular masses, because it pushes them away. It’s no wonder, then, that fiction targeted to Catholic readers—an even smaller audience—has struggled for market share. When people go to a Catholic bookstore, they buy nonfiction and gifts—statues, medals, cards—but not fiction.

Of course, then they turn around and bemoan the lack of good, wholesome reading material. Believe me, I sympathize. I’ve spent the last two years trying to figure out how to market a non-religious love story without extra-marital sex.

photo by Roger Smith

What, then, is the solution? Literature by Catholics, for Catholics? (Another list is available here.) Well, maybe. But I think it’s simpler than that.

We need fiction in which protagonists struggle to act in good conscience, even though others don’t—but without overt references to faith or Christian dogma. Put another way, we need literature in which faithful people are portrayed as heroes through their everyday actions. In which they rarely (if ever) pontificate about Personal Savior or Real Presence. Those are the books that will reach and evangelize the millions.

In fact, I think these books are already being published, in some limited fashion. I think they just go unrecognized because we, the market, don’t share with each other when we stumble across them.

And here’s where you come in. Surely everyone reading this post can share at least one or two gems: books that respect our beliefs, yet do so in a way that will speak to non-Catholics as well. Share your favorites, and give us a short review. I’ll go first:

• A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller, Jr. This is a three-part book covering the history of humanity post-nuclear holocaust. In part 1, all knowledge has been lost, and an order of monks is guarding some piece of knowledge, but they don’t know what it means. It turns out to be something banal; if Miller was less respectful toward the monks, the situation would come across anti-Catholic. Instead, the monks are portrayed as faithful men who honor knowledge. Part 2 shows what happens as humanity recovers from the holocaust, and Part 3…well, just read it. I should also note that there was a sequel, Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman,and it is far less respectful toward Catholicism.

• Five for Sorrow, Ten For Joy, by Rumer Godden. Set in postwar France, this book follows a young woman from innocence to prostitution and murder, and finally, redemption. The narrative jumps around a lot in time; at first, I wasn’t sure I wanted to put in the effort of keeping it all straight. But before long, I was gobbling pages, my heart aching at the beauty contained in them. It is a story about the struggle for holiness faced by threewomen: one who embraced a vocation, one who came to it kicking and screaming, and one who turned her back on God and humanity. It’s absolutely breathtaking. Here are two of my favorite moments:

“Like the weather, Lent is nice or nasty,” the Prioress said in her address, “but remember, unlike the weather, it is what you make it.” (p. 150)

“Listen, there are a million tiny voice

s and movements, rustling, crumbling, disintegrating, disappearing,

as you become one with creation. Your body will be earth, water, wind, stars.” (p. 206)

• Then Came Heaven, LaVyrle Spencer. If you’re into romances, this one is terrific. Set in the 1950s, it is the story of a disenchanted nun rethinking her vocation at the same time that a young father of two is recovering from the sudden, tragic loss of his wife. Spencer does a terrific job respecting Sister Regina’s struggle to discern whethershe is or is not called to remain in religious life.

Now it’s your turn. What novels should we read? And remember, they don’t have to be by or about Catholics at all—they just need to uphold the values we live by. I can’t wait to hear what you come up with!

Kathleen Basi is a stay-at-home mom, freelance writer, flute and voice teacher, composer, choir director, natural family planning teacher, scrapbooker, sometime-chef and budding disability rights activist. Her articles on family, faith and liturgy have appeared in such publications as The Family Digest, Religion Teachers Journal and Family Foundations. She has also published a novel, a short story, and several musical works. Kathleen puts her juggling skills on display at www.kathleenbasi.com.

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