Hell and Other Destinations: A Novelist's Reflections on This World and the Next

by Piers Paul Read

The famous British novelist and playwright Piers Paul Read presents his lively, thought-provoking reflections on wide ranging spiritual topics with his usual brilliance and insight. When this best-selling writer turns his attention to a subject he holds most dear, his Catholic Faith, as well as to religious and cultural issues of our times, he provokes delight and inspiration, as well as some fury and controversy. Hell and Other Destinations  is an illuminating volume that presents a selection of Read's most elegant and memorable writings on subjects ranging from Christians and Jews, liberation theology, and  The Da Vinci Code  to sexual desire, saints and Pope Benedict XVI.

Genres: Religion

250 pages, Paperback

First published February 21, 2006

About the author

British novelist and non-fiction writer. Educated at the Benedictines' Ampleforth College, and subsequently entered St John's College, University of Cambridge where he received his BA and MA (history). Artist-in-Residence at the Ford Foundation in Berlin (1963-4), Harkness Fellow, Commonwealth Fund, New York (1967-8), member of the Council of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (1971-5), member of the Literature Panel at the Arts Council, (1975-7), and Adjunct Professor of Writing, Columbia University, New York (1980). From 1992-7 he was Chairman of the Catholic Writers' Guild. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL).

His most well-known work is the non-fiction Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (1974), an account of the aftermath of a plane crash in the Andes, later adapted as a film.

Reviews

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a novel but a piece of journalism.....
Probably one of the best on-the-ground looks at the effects of Liberation Theology in El Salvador.

[Miss Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I found Read's prose to be succinct and articulate and while I found myself holding opinions that differed from his own on certain points, I thought the book worth the time. His historical essays were illuminating and I particularly regard his essay "Reconciliation" to be very thought provoking.

[MB · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I never finished it and I was easily bored. The title of the book is very misleading and the author spent very little time delving into the discussion of the various destinations. I suspect one already knows what to do in order to avoid the southern heat.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was like fine. read it at the end of summer 2023 when my internal religious conflict was keeping me up every night until dawn for weeks. I read many many many catholics and protestants arguing and after many months of torturing myself over what I believed I finally figured out that I Will Never Figure It Out and that's like the whole point of faith. Doh! But now I know a lot about the Catholic Catechism. It's a great party trick.

[Charles M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of essays on religious themes, including the afterlife, love, sex, etc.