I've been looking for more stories that have a very theological setting, or that contains these kinds of themes. Sci-fi tends to have them a lot but I'm kind of looking for something else (not opposed to reading more though, just wanted to diversify my catalogue.) Similarly, it doesn't have to be a specific religion, I'm interested in literature inspired by Gnosticism too. I guess a good story I'm looking for is something like Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, Nanquest/Rubyquest by TGWeaver, Herakles by Euripides, or Parzifal by Wolfram.
My WIP is about maltheistic zoo animals so I'll piggyback this thread. Paul Auster's 'City of Glass' springs to mind. But suggesting it made me realise there are lots of different ways theology can interact with storytelling. From A Pilgrim's Progress to the York Mystery Plays... to novels that want to say something about God but aren't grounded in academic theology.
Interesting. I don't know of any stories offhand, but just wanted to say most of my story ideas recently are related to religion or spirituality or fairy tales. One I was working on intensively a few years ago was specifically based on Gnosticism, working title The Gnostic Story. They also include the psychology of the unconscious, as per C G Jung, which curiously functions in a very religious/spiritual way.
You definitely want Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose." A thrilling mystery set in a medieval Italian monastery, in which the monks debate theological questions like whether Jesus laughed while the bodies pile up. It's one of the best books I've ever read. All of Eco's books (that I've read) are brilliant and very theological/philosophical. His later novel "Baudolino" gets into themes like the value of relics to the believer, and "Foucault's Pendulum" delves into conspiracy theories and the arcane/occult side of belief. Both were excellent.
There's a movie version with Sean Connery, Christian Slater, and Ron Perlman (Hellboy). I remember liking it quite a bit. Not sure how it would compare to the book though. but you know, usually 'the book is better'. Apparently there was also a TV series? Don't think I ever saw that or knew there was such a thing.
Didn't know there was a TV version, but the movie is definitely on my must see list. Though Connery was definitely not how I pictured the main character; he looked more like Liam Neeson in my head. Still, I've heard it was a good adaptation, so I want to see it someday.
That does sound like an interesting WIP, good luck on it! And I agree, theology can be used in incredibly interesting ways, it doesn't even have to be direct but just use it as a setting. I think Satre's play No Exit has a setting where the afterlife for the characters was being locked in a room. While not directly theological, I think just terms such as "life after death" is inherently quite religious.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Name_Is_Red Pretty amazing book. Won a Nobel prize. Seems like this book was influenced by The name of the rose too. Edit: you made me fall down some mental rabbit hole. There's another book I can't actively think of, but it has sent my brain churning. I'll probably let you know another time.
Haha, glad I was able to make some gears turn. The book looks fascinating like all the examples here, I'm just itching to get to all of them once my school work is done.
A Canticle for Leibowitz is pretty good. It's about a post-apocalyptic monastery in the American southwest. And since you mention C.S. Lewis, Till We Have Faces is a very brilliant retelling of the myth of Psyche and Cupid. It's not very well known for some reason, but it's one of the best novels I've ever read. Lewis's Space Trilogy addresses many theological themes as well, but I'm not as fond of them. They're very good though.
