Take Me To Church
Spirituality and sexuality are often intertwined in these novels that explore religion and relationships with the church. These writers wrestle with questions of sacrilege, servitude and the sublime.
Priestdaddy: A Memoir by Patricia Lockwood
A hilarious memoir about religion, family, and growing up in the American midwest when your father is the world's most unconventional Catholic priest. He plays deafening electric guitar, forces his children to watch The Exorcist and is frequently seen in nothing but his boxer shorts. Candid, witty, and brilliant, Lockwood gives us insight into the bosom of church life, delving into their restrictions on women's bodies and responses to predatory behaviour.
Trinity Sight by Jennifer Givhan
New Mexico has become an empty wasteland, and anthropologist Calliope Santiago, pregnant with twins, must make her way across it in search of her missing family. Rooted in Puebloan oral history, this is a visceral and thoughtful take on the post-apocalyptic novel, delving into questions of science and belief, fact and myth, alienation and belonging.
Go Tell It On The Mountain by James Baldwin
Set in Harlem in the 1930s, this chronicles a day in the life of fourteen-year-old John Grimes, the stepson of a fierce Pentecostal minister. It is an intense exploration of loneliness and desire as John struggles to come to terms with his growing sexual awakening amid the thunderous warnings of the church.
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Congregationalist minister John Ames writes a series of letters to his young son. This quiet, dignified book is full of joy and melancholy, as Ames meditates on love, faith, beauty, and wonder.
Beautiful Revolutionary by Laura Elizabeth Woollett
It is 1968 and minister's daughter Evelyn Linden is drawn into the dark orbit of Jim Jones, the charismatic American preacher and cult leader. This suspenseful novel is a feverish reimagining of the "People's Temple" and the leadup to the infamous Jonestown massacre, full of desire, betrayal, and paranoia.
Dolores by Lauren Aimee Curtis
A young woman shows up at the door to a remote convent, pregnant and alone. The nuns take her in and name her Dolores. Moving deftly between the new routine of her life at the convent and the events that led her there, we learn about Dolores's past - the love motels, fast cars, and a boy called Angelo - and remain concerned for her future.
Black Moses by Alain Mabanckou
This raucous and rollicking novel follows the tragi-comic adventures of Moses, a Congolese orphan who struggles to escape his desperate upbringing. Following his journey from orphanage to criminal underworld in Pointe-Noire in the 70s and 80s, it touches on political corruption, African folklore, and Judeo-Christian traditions, all with a heavy dose of satire, irony, and dark humour. Moses decides he will stand up for the weak and defenceless - with some questionable results.
The Testament of Mary by Colm Toíbín
This is Mary as you've never seen her before. This novel reimagines Biblical stories from the perspective of Jesus' mother as she watches her son become written into history. Mary is fierce, strong-willed, and determined to make her side of the story heard.