Book clubs have become quite popular in recent years, largely due to Oprah Winfrey and her outstanding selections of quality books. The Book of the Month Club has been around for generations, but did you know that book clubs originated in the seventeenth century?1 I certainly didn't. Some readers feel that novels are a waste of time when compared with nonfiction.

However, our finest novelists have a keen insight into human nature and deal with theological topics and "Christ events" regularly in their writings. Most good drama has a "Christ figure," a salvific protagonist who illuminates humanity's predicaments. We can usually identify with one or more of the characters in a book as we experience vicariously their dilemmas.

"The world according to John Irving is a weird, wonderful and dan…