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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I re-read this classic after first experiencing over 30 years ago. The modern language version makes the plot much easier to follow and allows the reader to be drawn into Christian then Christiana's journies to the Celestial City. The book is essentially an allegory of the spiritual pilgrimage of a man, and later his wife and children, who have chosen to become disciples of Christ. The references to the Scriptures are abundant. I don't just highly recommend this title. It is a must-read for any believer in Jesus today. It is truly a classic, only deepening and becoming more engaging as time passes.
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Loved the language, couldn't stand the sanctimoniousness.
While this book isn't the easiest read given that it is both a religious allegory and written in the 1600's, it is a very interesting way of looking at the path from unbeliever to believer, the process of sanctification, and the final reward of eternity with God.
I quite like the premise. Narrator describes a dream in which journeys though a land in which everyone represents some quality or idea. But I hated the way it was employed to spout nonsensicle Christian ideology. Thus: Christian departs to seek out the Pearly Gates after hearing about them from Evangelist. On the way he comes across many colourful characters like Sloth, Hopeful, Lord Hate-Good, and my favourite: Mr Worldly-Wiseman. Christian passes through all kinds of symbo-allegorical places, tribulations, triumphs. I'd quite like to read a guide to this because it seems pregnant with allusions and metaphors (in a similar manner to Gulliver's Travels), such that the annotations of of PilgrIm's Progress are probably more interesting than the main text.
As I said, I like the premise. It's just a shame that all of the characters are such shallow depictions of other ways of living or thinking. Clearly straw men set up for Christian orthodoxy to pillar. What if Christian encountered Logic, Buddhism, Prof. Science, Nihilism, Hegel, Mrs. Skepticism? This would've made a much more interesting read. I suspect that if Christian actually encountered any other genuinely fleshed out ideologies his insufferable naivety could be employed to great comic effect.
In conclusion: I found this super insipid and annoying because of all the Christianity stuff, but I suspect the annotations would be quite interesting. I also think it would have been a good novel if, say, Lewis Caroll or Douglas Hofstadter had written it. Yeah. 5 stars in the parallel universe where Douglas Hofstadter wrote Pilgrim's Progress.
Oh! One other thing I just remembered: Christian and Faithful pass through "Vanity Fair" at some point (which naturally is run by Beelzebub). Did Bunyan originate this phrase? Is the magazine so-called as a kind of ironic nod to Prilgrim's Progress? I wish we had spent more time at Vanity Fair as it seemed to be the most interesting setting in the whole saga.
As I said, I like the premise. It's just a shame that all of the characters are such shallow depictions of other ways of living or thinking. Clearly straw men set up for Christian orthodoxy to pillar. What if Christian encountered Logic, Buddhism, Prof. Science, Nihilism, Hegel, Mrs. Skepticism? This would've made a much more interesting read. I suspect that if Christian actually encountered any other genuinely fleshed out ideologies his insufferable naivety could be employed to great comic effect.
In conclusion: I found this super insipid and annoying because of all the Christianity stuff, but I suspect the annotations would be quite interesting. I also think it would have been a good novel if, say, Lewis Caroll or Douglas Hofstadter had written it. Yeah. 5 stars in the parallel universe where Douglas Hofstadter wrote Pilgrim's Progress.
Oh! One other thing I just remembered: Christian and Faithful pass through "Vanity Fair" at some point (which naturally is run by Beelzebub). Did Bunyan originate this phrase? Is the magazine so-called as a kind of ironic nod to Prilgrim's Progress? I wish we had spent more time at Vanity Fair as it seemed to be the most interesting setting in the whole saga.
The Pilgrim's Progress is one of the most read, most beloved, and most translated books in the English language. It is also one of the first English language novels, and has been incredibly influential on literature ever since, not just as an allegory but as a format for an epic adventure story as well. These are all good reasons to read a book, but they don't guarantee that you will actually like it.
Despite its apparent mass appeal, The Pilgrim's Progress can be hard going for the modern reader. The language is archaic, and there are no chapter breaks at all, so it seems to go on forever. In reality it is pretty fast moving, there's just a lot of ground to cover between The City of Destruction and the Celestial City. There is also a lot of spiritual ground to cover, as Christian encounters the personifications of basically every kind of false faith you can imagine over the course of his travels. Legality, Formality, Sloth, Presumption, and of course the impotent giant named Pope, just to name a few, all play important roles. A lot of the story is dialogue between Christian and various companions like Faithful and Hopeful, where they explain to each other why people like Hypocrisy, Ignorance, and Flatterer are doomed to destruction. As you may imagine, this can get a little repetitive. The Interpreter in particular was a character who kind of drove me nuts, because he keeps a different elaborate metaphor in every room of his house and has to show everybody all of them. But for the most part the book held my interest, with plenty of varied geographies for Christian to explore, and lots of daring battles. So while it's not exactly 100% engaging, the memorable moments do make up for the slogging in the end.
This edition also included Part 2, in which the rest of Christian's family goes on pilgrimage. I would recommend reading both, for a couple of reasons. First, one of the major sticking points in the first part for me was the fact that Christian abandoned his wife and four sons, and nobody seemed to think that was much of a problem. The second part addresses that issue. Also, the second part has a lot less fire and brimstone, and is generally a lot more gentle - more about God's love than God punishing people. If you just read the first part, you might come away with the impression that you had to either be a superhero or a martyr to actually get to heaven, and that was surely not Bunyan's intent. Part 2 rounds out the story nicely with more perspectives than just one Christian. The gender politics are outdated, of course, but not to the point of being offensive to me.
Incidentally, I picked up this edition at a library book sale, and I picked it because it cost 50 cents. If you're really serious about reading this book, I would recommend picking a more modern and user-friendly edition. There are hundreds to choose from. If you're like me and you like a good introduction, you'll be disappointed with how formulaic this particular one is.
Despite its apparent mass appeal, The Pilgrim's Progress can be hard going for the modern reader. The language is archaic, and there are no chapter breaks at all, so it seems to go on forever. In reality it is pretty fast moving, there's just a lot of ground to cover between The City of Destruction and the Celestial City. There is also a lot of spiritual ground to cover, as Christian encounters the personifications of basically every kind of false faith you can imagine over the course of his travels. Legality, Formality, Sloth, Presumption, and of course the impotent giant named Pope, just to name a few, all play important roles. A lot of the story is dialogue between Christian and various companions like Faithful and Hopeful, where they explain to each other why people like Hypocrisy, Ignorance, and Flatterer are doomed to destruction. As you may imagine, this can get a little repetitive. The Interpreter in particular was a character who kind of drove me nuts, because he keeps a different elaborate metaphor in every room of his house and has to show everybody all of them. But for the most part the book held my interest, with plenty of varied geographies for Christian to explore, and lots of daring battles. So while it's not exactly 100% engaging, the memorable moments do make up for the slogging in the end.
This edition also included Part 2, in which the rest of Christian's family goes on pilgrimage. I would recommend reading both, for a couple of reasons. First, one of the major sticking points in the first part for me was the fact that Christian abandoned his wife and four sons, and nobody seemed to think that was much of a problem. The second part addresses that issue. Also, the second part has a lot less fire and brimstone, and is generally a lot more gentle - more about God's love than God punishing people. If you just read the first part, you might come away with the impression that you had to either be a superhero or a martyr to actually get to heaven, and that was surely not Bunyan's intent. Part 2 rounds out the story nicely with more perspectives than just one Christian. The gender politics are outdated, of course, but not to the point of being offensive to me.
Incidentally, I picked up this edition at a library book sale, and I picked it because it cost 50 cents. If you're really serious about reading this book, I would recommend picking a more modern and user-friendly edition. There are hundreds to choose from. If you're like me and you like a good introduction, you'll be disappointed with how formulaic this particular one is.
challenging
reflective
slow-paced