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Many Christian writers seem to think that in order for a novel to exemplify Christian themes, stories must end with the triumph of good over evil, salvation over damnation, and so on. But Lott's work doesn't wrap up so neatly. After all, we are living in a world where we have been reconciled but where not everything has been finally resolved. Here again, Lott's stories differ from much of what you'll find in the Christian fiction aisle of your local bookstore. Lott is subtle; he is changing our understanding of what "faith-infused fiction" looks like.

May saw the paperback release of A Song I Knew By Heart, which came out from Random House in hardcover in 2004. A modern-day retelling of the Ruth and Naomi story, this novel is a lot truer to biblical themes than many of the recent works reimagining Old Testament women in their time and place. A Song I Knew By Heart has so resonated with Christian readers that Random House brokered an unusual deal for the paperback release. Random House has brought out a paperback for the general market, while Thomas Nelson published a paperback for the Christian market.

"Our whole vision," says Jenny Baumgartner, acquisitions editor at Thomas Nelson's fiction imprint, WestBow, "is to partner with authors writing from a Christian worldview who are writing great fiction; Bret Lott is the poster boy for that. He's writing great fiction, and he's a Christian, and his worldview bleeds into his novels in a way that is not trite or formulaic."

Thomas Nelson has chosen A Song I Knew By Heart as a Women of Faith selection, which means it will be featured at the wildly popular Women of Faith conferences and branded with the Women of Faith logo, which is something of a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for Christian women's books. Baumgartner, borrowing Flannery O'Connor's phrase, says Lott's novels are naturally "Christ-haunted."

"They don't glorify any kinds of lascivious behaviors, and they recognize a God that is active in our lives. In Jewel, for example, Bret writes about the profound hopes a mother has for her daughter's success and survival. As in all of his fiction, Bret mirrors a relationship with God, the inspiring depth of love, forgiveness, and hope."

The characters in Lott's fictional landscapes, says Baumgartner, overcome tremendous obstacles, larger-than-life obstacles. What distinguishes Lott's novels from, say, many Oprah picks is how they overcome these obstacles. Secular writers create characters who overcome their problems through their own grit and determination. Lott, and his fictional protagonists, are leaning on something greater for strength and courage.

Lauren F. Winner is a CT contributing editor and author of Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity (Brazos, 2005).

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Bret Lott is the author of the novels Jewel, A Song I Knew by Heart, Reed's Beach, A Stranger's House, and The Man Who Owned Vermont; the story collections The Difference Between Men and Women, How to Get Home and A Dream of Old Leaves; and the memoirs Fathers, Sons, and Brothers, Before We Get Started: A Practical Memoir of the Writer's Life.

Oprah's book club site has more information about Jewel and Bret Lott, including his favorite books and a letter to Oprah.

An interview with Lott is available from The Southern Scribe website.

For book lovers, see our book awards for 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, and 1997, as well as our Books of the Twentieth Century. For other coverage or reviews, see our Books archive and the weekly Books & Culture Corner.

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June 2005, Vol. 49, No. 6