Conversations with American Writers: The Doubt, the Faith, the In-Between

Postmodernity has shoved a stick through the spokes of any story that tries to take us somewhere. With postmodern literary theory insistent that a story can mean nothing, serious writers see their seriousness linked to maintaining the position that their fictions have no particular point. How can a literary work without a message inform our faith? Dale Brown here collects the stories of many contemporary writers whose work does carry meaning and message. Though perhaps not the normal fare on the shelves of many Christian bookstores, their works nonetheless have much truth to tell in their wrestle with the sacred. Some of them begin with the problems they have with faith, while others are deeply enmeshed in their beliefs but take atypical ways of expressing it through their writing. Following Browns earlier collection, Of Faith and Fiction, these conversations with popular American writers offer a new dialogue in considering the power of art to sustain faith in unexpected ways.