The Wounded Angel: Fiction and the Religious Imagination

by Paul Lakeland

In this unique book, readers are taken on a journey to explore the role of the imagination in the face of mystery, whether it be the mystery of God, whose full reality lies beyond our earthly horizons, or the deepest mysteries of life hinted at in the work of fiction. By attending to a series of novels, Paul Lakeland proposes serious fiction as an antidote to the failure of the religious imagination today and shows how literature might lead the secular mind at least to the threshold of mystery.

242 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2017

Reviews

[Ian Bordenave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Lakeland’s The Wounded Angel is not an easy book to understand, but one well worth reading for those who enjoy reading fiction and see its value for the life of faith. Lakeland’s thesis is that today’s religion, namely Catholicism, in its zeal for coming up with a definitive answer for every theological question—in other words, to leave little to nothing to doubt—is what saps religion of its strength as a portrayer of mystery. When mystery goes, so do the people, because there is little or no wonder and awe left in religion. What Lakeland contends is that reading serious fiction—that kind that leaves one pondering the meaning of the work long after it has been finished—is what opens up people to the sense of mystery, to the sense of life realistically portrayed, to an encounter with the divine, and to an opportunity of becoming fully human, namely someone who is engaged in loving others and allowing oneself to be loved by others. What Lakeland implies is that clergy and other leaders of the church would do well to read serious fiction regularly to help them become better portrayers of the mystery of faith. Maybe he is saying the adage, “It’s a mystery,” ought to be revived.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed Lakeland's exploration of the similarities between the act of reading (literary fiction) and the act of faith. Both reach toward an imaginative grasp of the whole; both occur in the imagination, which is not to say that they are imaginary. Both point beyond themselves to the mystery that lies beyond them.. Fiction leaves us with ambiguity; faith with a measure of doubt.

Many years ago I led a course titled 'Theology and Literature'. So I was interested to see how this author would relate the two.
I especially enjoyed the references to novels he uses to illustrate his thesis that the act of faith and the act of reading fiction have many parallels.

I was a bit put off when he began with Aquinas, Ockham, and A.J. Ayer followed by an imagined conversation between Coleridge and Shelley. These were used to set a marker for the act of faith. Chapter Two moved to the present day, and from there on I was hooked.
Much of what he said affirms my personal experience both as a reader and as a believer. I especially liked the distinction he made between faith and religion.