As far as the Greatest goes, I may have to say Dickens. I do greatly enjoy Poe, though I’m not really sure he can be considered a “novelist.” It’s a tough choice. I need to go back and read some more Dostoevsky.

Why do you jump around the internet mentioning the Manhattan Declaration? Are you looking to stir up controversy everywhere you go?

You used to be a cheer leader over at Triablogue, now you’re a defender of RCC/EOC and the Manhattan Declaration.

Weird.

Brad, Alexandre Dumas isn’t exactly in the same class as a Dosteyevsky; perhaps you’re bored because he’s boring! My advice would be to start with someone more contemporary, but still of literary quality. Most of us didn’t grow up having our imaginations nourished properly, so we’re like babies that need to be fed milk for awhile.

Ok, maybe I’m not that bad, but I’m probably close.

I’ve said this before on here but the greatest English novel that is honest, real, deals with sin and the redemptive work of Jesus is “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and that would have to put Harriet Beecher Stowe at the top.

I would have to throw C.S. Lewis in the mix (at least in terms of English novelist). His “Till We Have Faces” and “The Great Divorce” are superb. BTW he was Anglican. And then, I would like to throw in John Steinbeck “Of Mice and Men” and “East of Eden” (does about as good a job describing the disposition of sin as any author but especially in East of Eden).

Honorable Mention: Annie Dillard, Tolstoy

But let’s be serious though William P. Young (The Shack) is on top followed closely by Jack Chick.

Tolkien has to be up there for sheer impact. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series blows Lord of the Rings out of the water, but its hard to put him above Tolkien because he is writing in a genre Tolkien created.

That is not a put down to Dostoyevsky, but as the saying goes “horses for courses”

I am an avid reader and I have read widely, but I have never felt the need or the inclination to read Dostoyevsky. Maybe one day, but not likely.

Flannery O’Connor is my favorite American author. Love her stories AND novels. Also Nathanael West.

For stylistic brilliance: Nabokov’s Lolita, in which every sentence is a little masterpiece. Those who have read it will probably not be shocked by my choice.

Which Morrison book is best? I didn’t care much for Beloved, but I was a restless college student at the time.

@ Wilderness,
Tolstoy was a mad genius, and too much of a loony toon at the end for my liking. And the romances he crafts drive me bonkers as well. I liked W&P, but the Sebastopol stories were better.

@TUAD,
While driving to dinner tonight your point crossed my mind as well. Perhaps guys like ND Wilson will eventually deliver on the Protestant side.

To all,
Anyone read much of Walker Percy? Peter Leithart describes him as the “American Doestoevsky.”

A lot of votes and mentions for Dostoevsky and Tolkien.

Dostoevsky was an Eastern Orthodox Christian. And Tolkien was a Catholic Christian.

Per Tim Bayly: “Explaining to a friend the other day that I’ve found Roman Catholics writing about almost anything other than the five solas of the Reformation infinitely more interesting and helpful than Protestants …

But now, the only ones doing good critical (and often Biblical) thinking about ethics and war, sex, medicine, politics, art, demographics, culture, fertility, and the list goes on are almost exclusively Roman Catholic.”

Interesting, yes?

Best Regards,

A Joyful Signer of the Manhattan Declaration