New & Noteworthy Fiction

Chosen by Hannah Vanderpool, novelist and teacher.

The Buried Giant

Kazuo Ishiguro (Vintage Books)

Set in post-Arthurian England, The Buried Giant is a tale of adventure, mystery, and magic featuring an elderly couple who set out on a dangerous journey to visit their long-lost son. Their chief problem is that they can’t recall most of the details of their shared past—and their forgetfulness seems less like the result of old age and more like purposeful enchantment. A story of fidelity, loss, and the power of forgiveness, the novel reads like a fairy tale but tackles deep moral and philosophical questions while affirming the power of love.

These Nameless Things

Shawn Smucker (Revell)

Written as a mirror to Dante’s Inferno, These Nameless Things is an atmospheric story about what it’s like to live under the weight of personal guilt. The main character, Dan, finds himself among a motley crew of escapees from a mountain they associate with horror and torture. Though he no longer suffers at the hands of his captors, Dan hasn’t found peace, since he’s vaguely aware that he’s guilty of crimes he can’t quite remember. The story, though dystopian in flavor, is ultimately deeply hopeful and reminds us of the beauty of forgiveness.

And the Mountains Echoed

Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead Books)

Set in Afghanistan, And the Mountains Echoedweaves several seemingly disconnected stories together, moving back and forth in time from 1952 to 2010 to paint a picture of a conflicted and beautiful country. The book pierces straight to the heart with tender prose, allowing readers a glimpse into what it means to be both an Afghani native and an expatriate living in the United States. All of Hosseini’s novels offer Western readers a more nuanced understanding of Afghanistan, and this one is no exception. Warm but unflinching, it portrays the ways in which humans are essentially the same all over the world.

Also in this issue

Bible translation is fraught with challenges, especially when beloved passages are at stake. Producing Bibles gets even more challenging as publishers wade into the unavoidably subjective realm of study notes and margin commentaries. Yet through it all—and through storm and worldwide sickness—the Word of the Lord endures. Our issue this month pays homage to the timeless truth of Scripture, as well as to a few other books our team of judges loved this year.

Cover Story

COVID-19 Hurts. But the Bible Brings Hope.

Cover Story

Why There Are So Many ‘Miraculous’ Stories of Bibles Surviving Disaster

Cover Story

When A Word Is Worth A Thousand Complaints (and When It Isn’t)

Our Attraction to Idols Remains the Same, Even When the Names Change

Review

A Christian Approach to Social Justice Is Slow, Careful, and Self-Reflective

Where Is the Gospel in God’s Judgments on the Nations?

Review

After Binging on the Internet in 2020, We Need a Major Knowledge-Diet Overhaul

Testimony

I Was Filming a Dangerous Action Scene When I Gave My Life to Christ

Reply All

News

The Majority of American Megachurches Are Now Multiracial

News

Unearthing the Faithful Foundations of a Historic Black Church

News

Gambia’s Christians Take a Stand in the Public Square

News

Questions Continue for Women in Complementarian Churches

News

Gleanings: January 2021

Don’t Pack Away the Dinnerware During COVID-19

Our Jan/Feb Issue: Tomato, Tomahto, and the Bible

Timely and Eternal

Are the 81 Percent Evangelicals?

Can We Do Better than the Enneagram?

The Pro-Life Project Has a Playbook: Racial Justice History

5 Books on the Nature of Human Emotions

Excerpt

The Cross Is God’s Answer to Black Rage

Christianity Today’s 2021 Book Awards

View issue

Our Latest

Wire Story

Top ACNA Leader Faces Sexual Harassment Allegations

Following a string of scandals, the accusations against Archbishop Steve Wood come amid plans for the denomination to overhaul its abuse response.

The Russell Moore Show

 Listener Question: Should Communion Be Open to All Believers?

Russell takes a listener’s question about church membership and the Communion table.

Anti-Fragile Faith in Chaotic Times

Slow Theology highlights how a long obedience in the same direction grows.

News

Christian Colleges Object to Trump ‘Overreach’ on Higher Ed

The administration’s compact with universities would freeze tuition for five years and cap the number of international students, among other measures.

Will There Ever Be Peace in the Middle East?

An explainer on sectarianism, and how it keeps the region divided.

The Bulletin

Young Republican Texts, Anglican Split, and George Santos Released

Controversial Republican texts, Anglican Communion splits, and George Santos’s sentence is commuted.

Review

Do Evangelical Political Errors Rise to the Level of Heresy?

A Lutheran pastor identifies five false teachings that threaten to corrupt the church’s public witness.

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