The gospel according to the novelist : religious scripture and contemporary fiction

Why have so many prominent literary authors—from Philip Pullman and José Saramago to Michèle Roberts and Colm Tóibím—recently rewritten the canonical story of Jesus Christ?

What does that say about our supposedly secular age?

In this insightful study, Magdalena Maczynska defines and examines the genre of scriptural metafiction: novels that not only transform religious texts but also draw attention to these transformations.

In addition to providing rich examples and close readings, Maczynska positions literary studies within interdisciplinary debates about religion and secularity.

Her book demonstrates a surprising turn of events: even as contemporary novelists deconstruct the traditional categories of “secular” and “sacred” writing, they open up new spaces for scripture in contemporary culture.