Make-Believe: God in 21st Century Novels

A fascinating exploration of the themes of God and belief in the modern novel, and how fiction can help shape the way we talk about the divine.

"I will tell you a story that will make you believe in God."

No story can guarantee being able to do this. Yet novelists can tell stories that make us think about what we believe about God and why.

Despite repeated predictions of the death of the novel, thousands of works of fiction are published and read in Britain each year. Although Western society is less religiously observant than it was, many 21st-century novelists persist in pursuing theological, religious and spiritual themes. Make-Believe seeks to explain why.

With chapters offering analyses of novels from several genres - so-called literary fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy and dystopia - David Dickinson discusses a wide spectrum of novelists. Authors who are avowedly atheistic and authors who have a vested interest in perpetuating biblical stories are both featured. Well-known writers such as Rushdie, McEwan, McCarthy and Martell rub shoulders with some you may be meeting for the first time. Appealing to literature students and people who simply enjoy reading, whether Christian or not, this study of God in novels invites us to open our minds and allow aspects of our culture to shape our understanding of God and to change our ways of talking about the divine.