Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

Masterplots II: Christian Literature. Edited by John K. Roth. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press, 2008. 4 vols. 2100 p. $385.00. ISBN 978-1-58765-379-7.

Students may be surprised at the works discussed in this reference partially because the covers have artworks of religious figures; yet the contents include both fiction and nonfiction books and novels. Among these are "The Brothers Karamazov" and "The DaVinci Code" both of which have religious themes but might not be considered in the "Christian literature" genre. Books of poetry are also included. The first volume begins with an editor's introduction explaining the entries and should help teachers understand what is meant by Christian literature in choosing the entries. A two-page inset box lists versions of the Bible including Jewish scripture, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Bibles. Each book lists the titles in all four volumes. The more than 500 signed essays vary in length from three-five pages. Nonfiction entries begin with the title, author, when first published, the genre, subgenre, and core issues. A brief paragraph gives a synopsis which is followed by a longer overview, Christian themes, and sources for further study. Fiction entries cover this and add a list of the principal characters. The appendixes include a seven-page bibliography of books, another seven pages of electronic resources, a 13-page chronology of the titles beginning with David's psalms from 1030-962 B.C. to three entries for 2006. Finally, a core issues index, a genre index, a geographical index and a title index should help teachers and students who are looking for specific issues or a geographical region. This will be an interesting addition to the Masterplots series because of the subject as defined. It will be essential for schools offering courses in religions.