Read it as a kid and loved it. As an adult, I re-read it and wasn't at all comfortable with the thick Christian symbolism.
It's not simply the presence of the symbolism that made me squeamish, though. After all, one of my very favorite books, A Prayer for Owen Meany, has lots of Christian symbolism. But in Owen Meany, John Irving lets us draw our own conclusions from the miraculous events,...
more Read it as a kid and loved it. As an adult, I re-read it and wasn't at all comfortable with the thick Christian symbolism.
It's not simply the presence of the symbolism that made me squeamish, though. After all, one of my very favorite books, A Prayer for Owen Meany, has lots of Christian symbolism. But in Owen Meany, John Irving lets us draw our own conclusions from the miraculous events, remaining content simply to paint a beautiful and incredible picture.
C. S. Lewis, by contrast, conveys a very particular message in his Narnia books, using the gruesomeness of the atonement mythology. It made me squeamish to read, and in the end, the Lion's sacrifice seemed most tragic because of its pointlessness, not because of its poignancy.
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