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A review by wwatts1734
Left Behind by Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins
2.0
"Left Behind" is perhaps the best selling work of Christian fiction in history. It's a sort of religious sci fi novel about the world after "the rapture", an event where Christians are snatched from their lives as the world enters an era known as "the tribulation", a time of trials when evil prevails. I have read worse novels than this, in fact I have read worse religious novels than this (like Bud McFarlane Jr.), but I do have to say that this novel is one of the worst.
Readers like "Left Behind" because it is exciting. The Lord takes up Christians in a rapture that leaves the world barren and ready for the rise of the Anti-Christ. But unfortunately it is very poorly written. I have noticed that most modern religious novels are poorly written precisely because they are written for a captive market. There are people who will not read any book except for the ones that they can pick up at the local Christian bookstore, recommended by their pastor, and to these people it doesn't matter if the book is a quality read. These readers would probably not know a great work of literature if they read one anyway. So why should an author spend the weeks and months to polish a novel, correct the grammar, firm up the characters and the plot, when they could simply throw the novel on paper, get it on the shelves and start pulling in the royalties? Christian literature and Christian music today suffer from an appalling lack of quality for precisely this reason, and "Left Behind" is certainly not unique in this regard.
The other problem with "Left Behind" is that it is essentially a lesson in Dispensational Theology written in the form of a novel. A good novel introduces the reader to characters, leads them into a plot and lets the reader form his own theories and conclusions. This novel does none of that. The characters are paper thin and uninteresting, even the Anti-Christ character. But perhaps the worst part of "Left Behind" is the fact that the authors feel the need to spell everything out for the reader. There is no mystery in this novel, no imagery or symbolism that leaves the reader guessing. Everything is made obvious, and the authors hit the reader over the head with every lesson that they want the reader to take away from this story. That's not great literature, it's propaganda. But, unfortunately, it is also very characteristic of "Left Behind".
I find it interesting that, for a work of Christian fiction, "Left Behind" does such a horrible job dealing with issues of good and evil. You would think that Jenkins and LaHaye, if nothing else, would get that right, but they don't. Consider the following examples. The premise of his novel is that millions of people, and all children below the age of 12, are taken up mysteriously in this rapture. Think about this in any other context. Let's say that millions of people died in an epidemic, or an earthquake. What kind of effect would that have on society? In "Left Behind", things seem to go on without a problem despite the disappearance of all of these people. And Christians in this context would be working hard to help the victims of the disaster, but in "Left Behind" the Christians never seem to bother themselves in helping their fellow man. What kind of Christians are these? It is interesting that many of the people who are left behind are Church-goers. So why were they left behind? Jenkins and LaHaye are not Catholic, so they don't believe in mortal sin. So I don't understand what it was that caused these Christians to not be taken up in the rapture? Were they just not fervent enough? Did they nod off on Sunday morning at Church? It doesn't make any sense to me. And the Anti-Christ character doesn't make any sense either. Here is a suave, ambitious, charming young Romanian politician named Nicolai Carpathian, a man with "movie star looks." But how does this mark him as the Anti-Christ? The Anti-Christ is supposed to be the embodiment of evil, but this guy is not really evil. The way that Jenkins and LaHaye portray him, he could be Bill Hybels or Rick Warren; ambitious, charming, charismatic. So are Hybels and Warren the anti-Christ? Perhaps the subsequent novels in this series shed light on some of these issues, but I doubt it. I just don't think that the authors thought this through very well.
As much as I would like to recommend "Left Behind", I can't. I really not a good novel. Next time you go to the book store and see "Left Behind" on the shelf, walk away. Let this book be the one that you left behind!
Readers like "Left Behind" because it is exciting. The Lord takes up Christians in a rapture that leaves the world barren and ready for the rise of the Anti-Christ. But unfortunately it is very poorly written. I have noticed that most modern religious novels are poorly written precisely because they are written for a captive market. There are people who will not read any book except for the ones that they can pick up at the local Christian bookstore, recommended by their pastor, and to these people it doesn't matter if the book is a quality read. These readers would probably not know a great work of literature if they read one anyway. So why should an author spend the weeks and months to polish a novel, correct the grammar, firm up the characters and the plot, when they could simply throw the novel on paper, get it on the shelves and start pulling in the royalties? Christian literature and Christian music today suffer from an appalling lack of quality for precisely this reason, and "Left Behind" is certainly not unique in this regard.
The other problem with "Left Behind" is that it is essentially a lesson in Dispensational Theology written in the form of a novel. A good novel introduces the reader to characters, leads them into a plot and lets the reader form his own theories and conclusions. This novel does none of that. The characters are paper thin and uninteresting, even the Anti-Christ character. But perhaps the worst part of "Left Behind" is the fact that the authors feel the need to spell everything out for the reader. There is no mystery in this novel, no imagery or symbolism that leaves the reader guessing. Everything is made obvious, and the authors hit the reader over the head with every lesson that they want the reader to take away from this story. That's not great literature, it's propaganda. But, unfortunately, it is also very characteristic of "Left Behind".
I find it interesting that, for a work of Christian fiction, "Left Behind" does such a horrible job dealing with issues of good and evil. You would think that Jenkins and LaHaye, if nothing else, would get that right, but they don't. Consider the following examples. The premise of his novel is that millions of people, and all children below the age of 12, are taken up mysteriously in this rapture. Think about this in any other context. Let's say that millions of people died in an epidemic, or an earthquake. What kind of effect would that have on society? In "Left Behind", things seem to go on without a problem despite the disappearance of all of these people. And Christians in this context would be working hard to help the victims of the disaster, but in "Left Behind" the Christians never seem to bother themselves in helping their fellow man. What kind of Christians are these? It is interesting that many of the people who are left behind are Church-goers. So why were they left behind? Jenkins and LaHaye are not Catholic, so they don't believe in mortal sin. So I don't understand what it was that caused these Christians to not be taken up in the rapture? Were they just not fervent enough? Did they nod off on Sunday morning at Church? It doesn't make any sense to me. And the Anti-Christ character doesn't make any sense either. Here is a suave, ambitious, charming young Romanian politician named Nicolai Carpathian, a man with "movie star looks." But how does this mark him as the Anti-Christ? The Anti-Christ is supposed to be the embodiment of evil, but this guy is not really evil. The way that Jenkins and LaHaye portray him, he could be Bill Hybels or Rick Warren; ambitious, charming, charismatic. So are Hybels and Warren the anti-Christ? Perhaps the subsequent novels in this series shed light on some of these issues, but I doubt it. I just don't think that the authors thought this through very well.
As much as I would like to recommend "Left Behind", I can't. I really not a good novel. Next time you go to the book store and see "Left Behind" on the shelf, walk away. Let this book be the one that you left behind!