The most recommended allegory books

From multi-culture epic to English 17th Century Christian allegory, from the breadth of the Mediterranean, gods, and giants, to a foot journey down a strait path to a distant wicket gate. I'm at best agnostic; like Tolkien, I don't care for allegory, and Bunyan's is rather simplistic in comparison to its masterful use in Piers Plowman, the great medieval poem. Yet years after I met them, Christian and his companion Valiant-for-Truth linger in memory. And however unassuming, Bunyan's language can suddenly take flight: as when Valiant-for-Truth dies – allegorically, crosses the river of Jordan – and, "All the trumpets sounded for him on the other side."

The fiercely independent spirit of surrealists and other people trying to survive during World War 2 permeates this opulent novel with ghostly quotes and rebellious beliefs.

Laced with angels, forests, dreams, and women, this diary becomes increasingly fraught with questions of obedience, patriotism, dictatorship, and freedom.

Will your own perceptions be radicalized or soothed by this war story?

I read it at eleven and thought it was cool and exciting and different. I read it at seventeen and thought there might be some meaning behind the story.

I read it as a young father and thought, “Holy cow! It’s the meaning of life! A sci-fi/fantasy exploration of the creation and the fall of man… it’s an allegory for Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden. And it’s so good!” But don’t let the depth intimidate you; it’s a super compelling story about a young man in hyper-advanced society who has a gift that gets him in trouble. A total page-turner.

Now I want to go read it again. I wonder what I’ll notice this time…

In what I would call a companion to Lewis’ classic The Great Divorce, Webster offers up a modern-day descent into hell that is theologically thought-provoking, honest, profound, and—perhaps most surprisingly—playful.

The plot is relatively straightforward: a demon visits an ordinary Joe & takes him to hell, where Joe must complete three challenges to see and save his beloved twin sister, who died as a child. Along the way, Joe is faced with the fracturing of beauty, truth & goodness, as well as flashbacks that reveal more of his schism humanity.

The plot is compelling, but it’s Webster’s story-telling, setting details, and multifaceted symbolism that make this story shine, and the literary references and mythic quality had me queuing up for a second read-through to catch the layers.

This has an unexpectedly delightful effect on the reader of feeling like you are journeying with a beloved friend through this difficult… show more.

Before ‘uplit’ was even invented, there was DBC Pierre. His fiction has been described as a ‘joyful celebration of the human spirit’ and that is none more evident than in his protagonist in Lights Out, Gabriele Brockwell, a twenty-something narcissistic pleasure seeker optimistically stumbling through life before ultimately finding his place in it. A book that leaves you with the thought that optimism is the key to turning bad luck into good.

Repila (b.1978) is a Spanish writer, whose work was recommended to me by a UK publisher: “The Boy Who Stole Attila’s Horse is a work of mythic genius that portrays tragic inevitability in a quite terrifyingly awesome way (I mean awesome in the archaic sense)."

The book tells the story of two brothers – Big and Small – trapped in a deep well and slowly starving to death. The language is precise and gut-wrenching, but the narrative reaches beyond its own particulars – compelling as they are – to work as a furious allegory of inequality and injustice.

What I love about the book is precisely this combination: one visceral scene in a well becomes a global commentary on the shadow side of the human. 

I know plenty of people have seen film adaptations of this story, but in Stevenson’s novel, the drug takes on a larger, more sinister role. In the story, Dr. Jekyll – a respected and well-meaning scientist – creates a drug that can alter his personality to allow his baser, more evil elements to come to the surface. It essentially summons his “alter-ego” Mr. Hyde. As the good doctor becomes more and more dependent on the drug, his evil counterpart becomes more and more the prominent personality. At its surface, the novel is a classic exploration of good vs. evil, but a careful reading also illuminates the real dangers of substance abuse and what that can do to a personality.

I had to include this book because this is the book that opened up the whole world of time travel for me.

I read it as a young teenager and have loved everything about the concept of time travel ever since. I think the reason is that there is this implied desire to fix the mistakes of our past or something, and that whole idea bubbles under the surface of Wells’ classic.

Of course on the other side of that coin is that I would later come to learn that Wells was an atheist, and so that brings up the whole question of whether time travel is a human attempt to play God, and whether time travel is only possible in a universe where there is no God. 

This pick is slightly out of left field, coming from the heroic fantasy genre, but it is possibly my favorite novel. The story is loosely based on a Celtic-esque society and follows the central character, Bane, who is the bastard son of the most powerful king of their era. Angry and hurt but with signs of goodness in him, Bane leaves on a hero’s journey, where he ends up becoming a gladiator in the allegorical version of Rome.

I’ve reread this book so many times and still love it dearly. The choices of right and wrong, becoming a strong man, fighting for what you believe in, and defending those who can’t defend themselves are foundations of other authors’ work on my list, and David Gemmell is a worthy addition. 

This book is an allegory that shows life as full of struggles and doubts as we make our way to our spiritual destination. I fully related to the main character, Much-Afraid, and her insecurities. This book helped me to focus less on my fears and more on trusting a loving God who wants to help me to overcome my insecurities and fears.