The Pilgrim's Progress

The Pilgrim's Progress #1-2

by John Bunyan

For 300 years, The Pilgrim's Progress has remained perhaps the best-loved and most read of devotional fictions. In plain yet powerful and moving language, Bunyan tells the story of Christian's struggle to attain salvation and the Gates of Heaven. He must pass through the Slough of Despond, ward off the temptations of Vanity Fair, and fight the monstrous Apollyon. In Part II, his wife and children follow the same path, helped and protected by Great-heart, until for them, too, ‘the trumpets sound on the other side.’

About the Author:

John Bunyan was an English Christian writer and preacher who is best known for his allegorical novel The Pilgrim's Progress, published in 1678. Bunyan's faith was profoundly influenced by two books owned by his wife: Arthur Dent's Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven and Lewis Bayly's Practice of Piety, and he turned to preaching following the death of his guide and mentor, John Gifford.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Christian, Religion, Christian Fiction, Christianity, Theology

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 18, 1678

About the author

John Bunyan, a Christian writer and preacher, was born at Harrowden (one mile south-east of Bedford), in the Parish of Elstow, England. He wrote The Pilgrim's Progress, arguably the most famous published Christian allegory. In the Church of England he is remembered with a Lesser Festival on 30 August.

Reviews

[Paul Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the dawn of the day Reader began his quest for the Great Denoument with a glad heart, his countenance suffused by the Joy of Literature Yet Unread and unburthened by Mercantile Drear. He knew he should soon pass threw Goodreads City which was said to be very Malevolent yet still he feared not and sang out hymns and epithalamions addressed to the Archangels Proust, Joyce and Bolano which should look over him as he ventured. Eftsoons, he met with Mr Worldly Wise, who thrust at him pretty volumes by such a one as Daniel Brown and Michael Crichton, and then an other one, a young fair maid with a sore sorrowful countenance who gave unto him Stephanie Myers and Suzanne Collins. And Reader stopped by a winding road betimes, and read of these, and soon found himself in the Slough of Despond. Haply Evangelist arrived to yank Reader out of the Slough, and bade him follow him to a standing stone whereon he might make his mark for a Sign, and enter the gate of Goodreads City, which he was eager for. They that met him shewed him to the Hostel of Good Taste and told him of the reviews, the stars and the votes. And lo his eyes were opened to these things and taking a pen and paper he wrote mightily through all that night and beyond of the things he had read, the Crichtons and Browns and Meyers and how they tricked him into the Slough where in his soul had near perished. And Reader took sleep then and woke to find a thousand votes heaped up around his cot, and his heart was light. And in the Scroll of Great Reviewers he was yet written as number three and forty. But yet he was foresworn to climb the Hill of Extreme Difficulty to greet the Archangels Wallace and Gaddis, and clothed with his Armour of Interpretation which the citizens of Goodreads had yet given freely to him, he fixed his Two Edged Sword into its scabbard and sallied forth.

[Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs · Rating 5 out of 5]

What this ISN'T is a review of an indisputably profound book. No review here could do it perfect justice.

What this IS is an in-depth look at an early episode of the book - that of that notoriously sticky wicket, the Slough of Despond - from the particular angle of waking up to life, coming of age, in our modern day and era.

So let's keep it simple.

Let's say you have just had a revelation of all the ruefully intermingled glory and all the cheap ugliness of becoming an adult. Here's where also (as Hegel says) you choose either the Social Darwinian way of dominance or just staying cool - master or slave.

You have two further options: you can take the high or the low ethical road.

Now, the pressures of life are now (probably not entirely coincidentally) so high that it has become excruciatingly difficult to choose any but the low road, and just go with your friends' inborn flow. The easy way.

You may not know now that it's the easy way, and will probably certainly not know that it is all just a cheap facade in front of inner bankruptcy. In fact if you're completely in sync with media trends and public fads, you may not realize it until you're of an advanced age.

You may, like Rip van Winkle and me, fall fast asleep for half your life.

You see, before we were programmed with hype over fads and trends, we were programmed by Mother Nature with Conscience. Something you may fight or dismiss. But the longer you dismiss it the more strongly it will rapidly reach a crescendo in your SUBconscious.

The result?

The Slough of Despond, AKA Deep Moody Depressive Gloom.

That's the beauty of the human machine, you see. We're built with BRAKES. The full stop is for our, and our species', self-preservation. And it can lead you, as Robert Pirsig says, to discover real VALUE - for the first time in your life.

Turns out the easy path is our own self-inflicted punishment in the end. And if we don't believe in God like John Bunyan did, by the end of our trip we'll believe in GUILT.

You know, that dead albatross tied round your neck like a noose?

Fortunately, turnaround at any stage of life is possible. Better late than never. And the dawn of the love that turns us around is forgiveness.

That's why the title of the book says Progress, and not Stalemate, because progress to the sunshine of self-actualization is always possible. There can always be a happy ending.

So Nature forgives.

But Nature told us right in the beginning to start the right way - by paying attention to our conscience.

Don't ignore it.

Cause, kids, if you're not watching the traffic signs -

Sooner or later you may crash.

[Sasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pilgrim's Progress is about two delusional assholes wandering around being dicks to people, so it's basically a takeoff of Don Quixote. But the dreaming narrator seems unconscious of the fact that the pilgrims are both jerks. I suppose it's possible that they're not supposed to be jerks at all, but...no, that can't be right. They're such jerks.

It starts with a guy named Christian abandoning his family to wander off in search of a magical city. "His wife and children...began to cry after him to return, but the man put his fingers in his ears, and ran on, crying Life! Life! Eternal life!" It's pretty funny, in a mean kind of way, but irl abandoning your family to wander around looking for God is frowned upon. ("Says who?" goes Tolstoy, who did exactly this and then died of exposure in a train station.)

So he takes off and immediately falls into the Slough of Despond (translation: "Marsh of Bummers"), and we immediately see that he's not only a dick (see above) but not very bright. He flails away through the mud, and as he's finally struggling out of it, some other guy comes by like what's up, and Christian is all "as I was going thither I fell in here," and the dude is like, "But why did you not look for the steps?" Christian's all, "There were steps?" Womp womp.

And then he runs across some virgins. "Come, good Christian, since we have been so loving to you, to receive you in our house this night..." Woohoo, virgins! I guess it was pretty smart after all for him to run out on his family.

He picks up his very own Sancho Panza along the way, a dude named Faithful - people have funny names in this book - and they recognize kindred dick spirits in each other; they will have great fun being mean to everyone else they meet for the rest of the book. Right away, for example, they run into a dude named Talkative, and they're just pricks to him for basically no reason. I guess Talkative's name is ironic or something because he actually does very little of the talking, and whenever he does open his mouth they just bag on him mercilessly:

Faithful:Some cry out against sin even as the mother cries out against her child in her lap, when she calleth it slut and naughty girl, and then falls to hugging and kissing it....The proverb is true of you which is said of a whore, to wit, that she is a shame to all women; so are you a shame to all professors.
Talkative: Since you are ready...to judge as rashly as you do, I cannot help but conclude that you are some peevish or melancholy man, not fit to be discourse with.

Talkative has done nothing to infer that he's a sinner. Christian has heard rumors about him, that's all, and there's that unfortunate name and Faithful is like okay, good enough! And then they ditch him.

Anyway, so then they pass through Vanity Fair, which has all kinds of stuff for sale, but they're like "We buy the truth!" which doesn't really make any sense but fine, save your money. Unfortunately the merchants are pissed off about that, so they torture and burn Faithful to death, which you're like holy shit, where did that come from? It's pretty gross. Luckily he's replaced by a guy named Hopeful who's exactly the same as Faithful in every way, so...whatever? If Christian's going to never mention Faithful again after watching him get tortured to death, I guess I won't either.

So they ditch another guy or two, and sing some shitty songs - their idea of a fun chat is to sing shitty songs - and then Christian is all "Oooh, shortcut!" and of course they're captured by a giant and chained up in his dungeon for like a week, and he's about to kill them when - get this - suddenly Christian is like oh shit, I totally forgot, I have a magic key with me that will open anything. This is another ongoing theme: Christian just forgetting shit. It'll come up again later. So they unlock their chains and amble off, and Christian's like I know the way back, and Hopeful is like you know what, maybe I'll lead the way for a while, homie.

Christian: Who could have thought that this path should have led us out of the way?
Hopeful: I was afraid on it at the very first, and therefore gave you that gentle caution.

They should have named him "Passive Aggressive." They get lost again in no time, and once again they're eventually like oh shit, "They also gave us a note of directions about the way, for our more sure finding thereof, but therein we have also forgotten to read." It's a miracle these two bumbling nincompoops ever make it anywhere at all. And let's just take a moment to point out that this is super hella bad plotting. Like if you turned this in for your ninth grade fiction class - "And then they remembered some magic stuff that's never been mentioned at any previous point but immediately it got them out of the trouble" - your teacher would be like quit phoning it in, C-. Just in terms of pure literary value, how pleasant is it to read this book, it's trash.

And then there's another case of them ditching a perfectly nice guy. His name is Ignorance, of all things, and he's like "I'm a holy pilgrim too!" but Christian is all,

Why, or by what, art thou persuaded that thou hast left all for God and heaven?
Ignorance: My heart tells me so.
Christian: The wise man says, "He that trusts his own heart is a fool." (Prov. 28:26)
Ignorance: This is spoken of an evil heart, but mine is a good one...I will never believe that my heart is thus bad.
Christian: Therefore thou never hadst one good thought concerning thyself in thy life.
Ignorance: That is your faith, but not mine; yet mine, I doubt not, is as good as yours, though I have not in my head so many whimsies as you.

Look, here's the thing: it's not this dude's fault his parents named him Ignorance. It was a dick move on their part, and sure, if it was me I might come up with a nickname like Igny or something, but I feel like Christian and Hopeful are judging him more by the name than by the perfectly innocuous things he says. This is an ongoing theme - people with bummer names getting shat on for it - and it just seems hella uncool.

Anyway, Christian and Hopeful respond by wandering off while chanting at him, "Well, Ignorance, wilt thou yet foolish be, To slight good counsel, ten times given thee?" Actually chanting at him. It's moments like this that led George Bernard Shaw to describe Pilgrim's Progress as "a consistent attack on morality and respectability, without a word that one can remember against vice and crime."

Later on Ignorance will get to the gates of Heaven and it turns out that Christian and Hopeful are right: he totally doesn't get in. He is instead bound and thrown straight into Hell, so that sucks for him, and if you thought that this was going to be a book where Christian and Hopeful learn a valuable lesson at the end about not being dicks to absolutely everyone, this ending isn't going to satisfy you any more than Don Quixote's did.

Because it turns out that the God of John Bunyan actually is Christian's God. This is the menacing, Puritan God our American forefathers sailed to America shrieking about - the one Sinners are in the Angry Hands of - and I don't care for Him. He is too much of a dick for me.

The book itself has its moments. It's vividly written; there are exciting parts; it's not boring. But it's nowhere near as good as its exact contemporary Paradise Lost, which leads you to wonder about its enduring popularity. Is it just possible that Christians are so fond of it because it's quite a bit simpler than Milton?

Because the fact is, Christian is not very bright.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

So you know when you hear that Citizen Kane is the best movie ever because of how revolutionary it was during its time period, and then you watch it and you realize that the key phrase is "during its time period"? Well, reading Pilgrim's Progress is likely to leave many with the same feeling. No doubt one of the greatest modern religious texts in terms of what it provided for early Puritans (an easy and concrete representation of their theology and daily living practices), it leaves a little to be desired for those modern readers who are not steeped in Puritanical literary history. Don't get me wrong, any book where you actually get to challenge your temptations to a sword fight is pretty cool, but the language and pace of the book removed the excitement from even those scenes. Not to mention there are a few failed analogies in this allegory, especially in part II. Apparently Christian women don't have to fight their own battles of faith, you just have to find your own Mr. Great-heart and tag along for the ride (and be prepared to marry off your kids at a moment's notice). Overall, I would recommend this classic work to those who are trained to appreciate this genre and style (not me obviously), but not so much to anyone else.

[Roy Lotz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Midway upon the journey between my home and work did I open the case of my kindle, and in that case I did there find a kindle. Then, I turned this kindle on and lo! what there did I find? The Pilgrim’s Progress. And so mine eyes began to read the screen. Thus, I did set upon another journey at that time, traveling from the beginning of the book to the end. And there I did find many new acquaintances.

My first companion I came upon was Mr. Amusement. But he quickly left me, and then did Mr. Boredom come along. Occasionally Mr. Interest dropped by, as did Mr. Entertainment, but Mr. Boredom was my most faithful companion from beginning to end. When finally I did reach the end, a beautiful man did appear called Mr. Relief, and his good friend Mr. Thank-God-This-Is-Over did appear as well. Yea, and we all fell to laughing.

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beyond classic 17th century first published and questionably still the greatest work of theoretical fiction is a must-read because of its status in global publishing history. The book itself is very meh, but its appeal to readers interested in theoretical Christian fiction is way beyond doubt, and with its standing in history the very least I can give it is a Two Star, 5 out of 12. Still a book that has to surely be on every reader's tick-list?

2022 read

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book during my second deployment to Iraq as well and it took me quite a while to finish it. I had seen this book referenced often and I wanted to read it on my own. The overall consensus is that it is a very compelling book and will pull at your soul's emotional strings with its simplicity and candor. But also there were three major hurdles to finishing this book--for me, at least:

It was first published in 1678 so it is not an easy read. The diction is alien to me, but also one does not fall into the parlance of Mr. Bunyan's time as easily as even the made-up language of A Clockwork Orange. Here is an example of the text: "Mercy. Then said Mercy, I confess my ignorance: I spake what I understood not: I acknowledge that thou doest all things well." Yikes. Also, the original was not written like a screenplay so it is at times confusing who is speaking to whom. Luckily, the Penguin Classics version marks all dialog with the speaker as a preface in italics.

Secondly, the allegory is very simple. The characters names are the likes of: "Mr. Great-Heart, Mr. Timorous, Mr. Feeble-Minded, the Giant Despair," etc. The situations that all the characters face are definitely unique, but not so riveting as a result of surprise. This barrier for me though is acceptable: the stark simplicity of the journey actually increases the voracity of Bunyan's words. The story is not for the sake of story-telling; the allegory actually need not be so imaginative in this case.

Finally, and this may seem superficial, but Bunyan's poetry skills are pretty awful. The poem opens with a long bit of rhyming poetry that almost made me quit reading. Ironically, the poem is an apology of Bunyan's allegorical shortcomings. I still didn't enjoy reading the poems. I actually found myself skipping even the shortest attempts at rhyme in the plot by the first 30 pages of the book. I find it interesting that Bunyan's prose can be so powerful that he felt the need to attempt ABAB style poetry in his work. Maybe he felt the need to counter the beautiful epic style of John Milton's Paradise Lost (published first about 12 years before TPP). I don't know, but either way--it is a serious barrier.

Bunyan earns most of his Paul Dollars (approximately worth 5 Shrewt bucks or 1000 Stanley Nickles, for you Office fans) in the transcendence of the story into the heart of the Christian reader. I felt Bunyan's soul guiding Christian through his pilgrimage. At the beginning of the story when Christian tells his plans to his family, they chastise him and mock him--after ignoring him of course. As he finally departs alone, his family and neighbors snub him and hurl curses from both sides of the road. This forces Christian to "put his fingers in his ears" and run as quickly as possible away from the City of Destruction. You can't help but be captivated by Christian's steadfast loyalty to his mission: going to Heaven, or the "land beyond the river that has no bridge."

Here are some examples of Bunyan's greatest words:

"No man can tell what in combat attends us but he that hath been in the battle himself." (Page 113) after he fights the demon Apollyon.

In reply to Christan's query, "tell me particularly what effect this [a vision of Christ) had upon your spirit," Hopeful answers with conviction that almost wrought me with tears:

"It made me greatly ashamed of the vileness of my former life, and confounded me with the sense of mine own ignorance; for there never came thought into mine heart before now that showed me so the beauty of Jesus Christ. It made me love a holy life, and long to do something for the honour and glory of the name of the Lord Jesus. Yea, I thought that had I now a thousand gallons of blood in my body, I could spill it all for the sake of the Lord Jesus." (Page 125)

Awesome.

This book was a good spiritual book for me at this time in my life. I recommend it for anyone who wishes to keep the fire of their faith burning.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a few versions of this on my shelves from the nicely bound hard back to paper backs I can hand out (you know "loan").

This is (as I'm sure most already know) an allegorical journey depicting the struggles of living the Christian life. John Bunyan was a Puritan or Baptist (preacher) imprisoned when it was against the law to be a be Puritan or Baptist. He was imprisoned for (aprox.) twelve years for refusing to convert to Anglicanism (Church of England)...this sort of thing by the way is the reason for the first amendment, not a worry that a child would be asked to pray when their parent is an atheist or the fear that "IN God We Trust" might end up on a coin.

While he was imprisoned Bunyan wrote this book. Even if you disagree with his doctrine ( I and many other Christians do in some places) this work is well worth reading.

Pilgrim lives in the City of Destruction. He's one of the few who realizes that the City of Destruction is actually destined for destruction. He learned this by "reading the book in his hand". Setting out for the Celestial City he must first go to and through the Wicket Gate and to the Cross. There the huge burden that weighs him down, (his sin) falls away and his name is changed to Christian.

The book then follows Christian's journey, in allegorical form giving account of his trials, his mistakes and ultimate destination.

The book was written in 1678 and sometimes the language may stymy a bit, but it's a wonderful book. Even if the theology may not be spot on for all Christians it is true to the basic teachings. It will encourage Christians and by existing at all endorses freedom of speech.

[Jessica]

First published in 1678, The Pilgrim's Progress remains remarkably relevant: it has never been out of print and is long regarded as the most printed and widely read Christian book after the Bible. Written by the Puritan John Bunyan while imprisoned, it is an allegory of the beginning, progression, and conclusion of the true Christian life, offering timeless insight into the struggles and triumphs that all believers experience. Every character, place, and physical detail carries symbolic meaning for reflection and spiritual insight.

The story follows a man named Christian as he journeys from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Along the way, he meets memorable characters—Evangelist, Interpreter, Pliable, Obstinate, Mr. Worldly Wiseman, Legality, Faithful, Hopeful, and more—and navigates symbolic trials such as the Slough of Despond, the Hill Difficulty, the Valley of the Shadow of Death, Vanity Fair and Doubting Castle. He also finds guidance, encouragement, and hope at the Interpreter’s House, Palace Beautiful and atop the Delectable Mountains—reminding readers of God's faithful provision to pilgrims on the journey of Christian life.

This allegory reminds me that like Christian, I live a pilgrim’s life—traveling toward eternity, striving to keep one eye on the Celestial City and the other on the daily activities of this world. The path is at times steep, and sin makes this world a dry and weary land. Yet this story is a reminder that no matter the trials—the valley I traverse, the slough I may stumble into, the river I must ford, or the hill I climb—my Guide is ever watchful, my Deliverer unfailing.  He leads His people by "the right way,” as the Psalmist says, to the "city of habitation" (Psalm 107:7)—the glorious city with foundations, “not made with hands,” and “whose Builder and Maker is God” (Heb. 11:10; 2 Cor. 5:1).

My blog is inspired by this book: pilgrimsprogress.net

For further guidance, see Leland Ryken’s course guide: Christian Guides to the Classics: Pilgrim’s Progress.

For audiobook, this version narrated by David Shaw-Parker provides distinct voices for each character, enhancing the story’s depth and drama.

[Susan Atherly · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, I really liked this book a lot. I love John Bunyan's tone.

[Luís · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is undoubtedly an exciting approach to faith and religion, more accessible and playful because it stages in the form of easy-to-understand metaphors the journey of an ordinary man, a gentleman from the 17th century, in a concrete situation. But for the disbeliever that I am, it remains just as indigestible. Some passages even made me jump. Those who have faith, ask questions, or research will find their way there. I don't have it (and if I have, it would be just a few), and it's a path of resilience that doesn't suit me, far too exclusive and excessive and far too many things. However, I found some of the answers I had come for regarding Vanity Fair. It's not that bad already.

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Christian Allegory from the 1600's. That's a long time ago and the book has never been out of print. Now that is a legacy. You wonder if John Bunyan knew he was writing something that would last for 400 years.

I will admit to needing to go back and read this again. I don't know if I was focused enough on it or not, or if the book simply wasn't for me, but I really can't say much of what was happening. I know all the characters are named for what they are. The christian is named Christian and the person with hope is named Hope and so on. There is Fear and all kinds of other characters. I was reading about this book and I found out, it's like an adventure story. I had no clue there was an adventure going on in this story. I really didn't pick that up. That is sort of sad on my part.

I will say I listened to this and the recording was okay, but my mind slid away from the story and the plot didn't stick with me. I thought the writing sounded like poetry and there were some beautiful uses of language and that's why I gave it 3 stars.

Maybe some day I will go back and read it again and get it.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

So happy to finish the year with a classic I have been wanting to read for years! Loved the simplicity of the message: salvation is a pilgrimage that one must undertake (often times alone) if one expects to get to the gates of heaven - now I know where the term 'Vanity Fair' comes from!

[Jan-Maat]

We used to sing He who would true valour see at my secondary modern school. In fact it was the only song we'd ever sing in school assemblies. We'd sing it in dire, dirge like manner, deep in the Slough of Despond of that Vanity Fair of adolescent school days and not like the hero who was ready to march through the Valley of the Shadow of Death to take on hobgoblins, hypocrites and the demands of life after the dreaded Eleven Plus.

Bunyan was active in the period of the Republic and the Restoration which saw upheaval both in terms of religion as well as politics as described in The World Turned Upside Down radical ideas during the English Revolution and was inspired to write after a brief spell of imprisonment.

It nice to turn to Bunyan after Paradise Lost or even the Memoirs of the Life of Colonel Hutchinson and to read something written by somebody who was literate, but in comparison hardly educated but no less engaged and swept up by the spirit of their times. The still small voice of a member of a minor religious group of low social status has carried along way through the English language. It is testament too to the power of the Bible in the imagination and how what are really alien and remote narratives can be, have been and no doubt are, taken on and continually reused in diverse times and places to explain peoples sense of themselves and their place in the world.

This particular edition includes a sequel to The Pilgrim's Progress. Proof is any were needed that the mad passion for sequels has threatened to infect all writers since earliest times. The sequel features Christian's wife and children on their pilgrim. Sadly on account of their being women and children they don't get to fight hobgoblins.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

simply amazing. There is a reason why many literary critics consider this the best Christian book/read next to the Bible. This book although not a difficult read compared to other literary classics will definitely challenge you with its many allegories and metaphors of the Christian life. For anyone who thinks the Christian life is a soft cushy way needs to read this book.

[Lori Keeton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful book and a brilliant allegory presented by Bunyan who labored over this while imprisoned for his faith. I read a version with my children when they were young called Dangerous Journey: The Story of Pilgrim's Progress and never had read the original work. This version that I'm reviewing is not actually complete as it only has part 1 which is Christian's story. Part 2 is the story of Christiana, Christian's wife. My Penguin Classics version has this part so I can complete the read fully.

This will be a new favorite and I will look forward to revisiting it next year and each year after that so that the story of Christian's pilgrimage to the Celestial City can stay fresh in my mind. It is a story of a Christian's journey through life and how he seeks that which will lighten his burden but must meet with trials on the way. Christian demonstrates that the road to Heaven isn't easy but in the end the reward of salvation is worth the difficulties he had to endure.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Christain Allegory from a contemporary of Milton? Or an upbeat adventure fantasy with monster slaying, epic quests, moral quandaries, and much deceit?

It's very easy to fall back on this as a tool for moral teaching especially since the lessons being learned are all in the names of the characters, but I am forced to remember that this kind of everyman allegory has a long, long tradition in literature.

I'd rather see this as an easy to read upbeat fantasy adventure featuring first The Christian who goes on without his family to have adventures and his death AND THEN to have the second half be the rest of his family following down the same path, albeit somewhat differently.

The fact is... it's fun. Ignore all the religion stuff for a moment. Read it as a story. It's STILL FUN. Epic quest time!

It's also a pretty decent antidote to your normal GrimDark fantasy binge. :)

[Ian "Marvin" Graye · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Response to Paul Bryant's Review:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


Mr. Honest

Then it came to pass a while after, that there was a post in the town that inquired for Mr. Honest Paul Bryant.

So he came to the house where he was, and delivered to his hand these lines: “Thou art commanded to be ready against this day seven-night, to present thyself before thy Lord at his Father’s house.

“And for a token that my message is true, all the daughters of music, even the mothers of invention, shall be brought low.” Eccles. 12:4.

Then Mr. Honest Paul Bryant called for his friends, and said unto them, “I die, but shall make no will. You can have all of my books, even the fat ones that stop the doors.

“As for my honesty, it shall go with me; let him that comes after be told of this, that I have lived a long life and read a lot of books, but I have still not read William Gaddis or David Foster Wallace.”

When the day that he was to be gone was come, he addressed himself to go over the river.

Now the river at that time over-flowed its banks in some places; but Mr. Honest Paul Bryant, in his lifetime, had spoken to one Good-Conscience Manny Rayner to meet him there, the which he also did, and lent him his hand, and so helped him get his leg over, as he had been wont to do.

The last words of Mr. Honest Paul Bryant were, “Grace reigns!” So he left the world, and Manny was happy, because he would continue to reign number one on God’s own Earth, most especially in England.

Mr. Valiant-for-Truth

After this it was noised abroad that Mr. Valiant-for-Truth Ian Graye was taken with a summons by the same post as the other, and had this for a token that the summons was true, “That his pitcher was broken at the fountain.” Eccles. 12:6 (or was it Bluebottle?).

He did analyse this message greatly and at length (exceeding 20,000 characters) and when he understood it, he called for his friends, and told them of it.

Then said he, “I am going to my Father’s; and though with great difficulty I have got hither, by reading William Gaddis and David Foster Wallace and, yea, even Don DeLillo and Thomas Pynchon, yet now I do not repent me of all the trouble I have been at to arrive where I am.

“My sword I give to him or her (but preferably her) that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him or her that can get it. And it shall most likely be a youth called Steve or Stephen, or a damsel called (Jenn)ifer or Jenn(ifer) or some such.

“My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought His battles who will now be my rewarder. “

When the day that he must go hence was come, many accompanied him to the river-side, into which as he went, he said, “Death, where is thy sting?”

And as he went down deeper, he said, “Grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Cor. 15:55.

GodReads

So Mr. Valiant-for-Truth Ian Graye passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side. As did the strumpets who had ended their travails in Heaven.

And when he did arrive there and wander around, he did say, “My Lord, there are people here in Heaven who did not read William Gaddis and David Foster Wallace and Don DeLillo and Thomas Pynchon. Nor have I been able to locate any one of these fine Authors in this Heavenly precinct.”

And the Lord did say of Gaddis, “He shall gather no Recognitions in Heaven. For it is said, God is great, not Gaddis.”

And of DeLillo, He did say, “He is safely in an Underworld of his own manufacture.”

So too did He remark of Pynchon, "I am told he has been distracted by some beings from the planetoid Katspiel."

And of Wallace, the Lord did say with considerable gravity, “Alas poor Wallace, I knew him, Lothario, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. But nineteen score and eight end-notes? Ya gotta be kiddin' me, right?”

And Mr. Valiant-for-Truth Ian Graye did wonder about the Lord’s Lower East Side accent.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/13/2021 Update: I read a couple pages a day. I deeply enjoyed both the story and the spiritual encouragement. Life has been a challenge through these pandemic days. The time reading brought great peace and emotional strength to my heart. He wrote this in his desperation and the reader shares the reception of his seeking. I hope to read it again.

Update 3/9/2021: I read about fifty pages into this but found it packed with overwhelming spiritual nourishment. I'm slowing down to a page or two a day to let it into my mind and apply it. In my opinion the book doesn't read as entertainment. It goes deeper, like other books I read daily for wisdom.
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I first heard of this book in Bible college. Today Christianity offers many opposing viewpoints and brings confusion and arguments to many. To those who hunger for and seek truth I understand the difficulty. I had my own journey and had to fail and become desperate before I found the real thing. This book gives clear and concise guidance on the Christian faith and makes it fun and exciting, as we follow a man's dangerous journey to escape the destruction of his own city and journey to the celestial fortress.

[Annie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reads like satire, but just... isn't? I feel like it's mocking itself but I really don't think it is?

It's just really hard to take this book seriously. It's incredibly dated, mind-numbingly boring, and obscenely moralizing. This book felt like my entire childhood of nuns making me kneel on the hard marble floor for laughing in chapel on Friday mornings.

I love allegory as much as your mom, but I do like just a tiny bit of subtlety. In Pilgrim's Progress, Allegory comes over to you and she slaps you in the face (see what I did there?). Over and over again. And then she tells you to turn the other cheek.

A summary: a guy named Evangelist helps a guy named (wait for it) Christian, who by the way is married to (wait for it twice) Christiana, find Jesus. He gallivants down the road to meet Jesus and makes new friends, like Faithful and Hopeful. They meet some nefarious people- shockingly, named after vices- who (prepare to be shocked again) meet righteously unhappy ends. Later on, Christiana, who got left behind, makes the same journey with the rest of the fam. The End! Did you enjoy that? Me neither.

I fuck you not, there are characters named Lord Hate-Good, Mrs. Inconsiderate, and Mr. Feeble-Mind. It's like 17th century Clue. It was Mrs. Inconsiderate, in the Valley of Humiliation, with a candle-stick! (How very inconsiderate of her!)

Paradise Lost, it ain't.

[Nazanin · Rating 2 out of 5]

بالاخره کتاب خوبی که دوستش نداشتم به پایان رسید، ازون دسته کتابها که انگار قصد کرده بود تا آخر دنیا تموم نشه...

قبل از اینکه خواندنش را شروع کنم تصور می کردم یکی از لذت بخش ترین تجربه های کتابخوانیم را خواهم داشت مخصوصا که در پیش گفتار هم ذکر شده بود که " یکی ازبهترین و مشهورترین آثار عرفانی مسیحی که مراحل سیر وسلوک و مقامات و منازل طریق سالکان را به نیکی تصویر کرده ..." اما ظاهرا "همیشه اونطوری نمیشه که ما فکر می کنیم" ...
تقریبا از همان صفحات ابتدایی، حس کردم متن به دلم جفت و جور نمیشه (یا من باهاش جفت و جور نمیشم!) ... در واقع شیوه روایی برام جذابیتی نداشت...

مطلبی که در ادامه می آید برگرفته ازمقدمه اثر است و به نظرم یک دورنمای نسبی را از این کتاب ارائه می کند ...

" کتاب سیر و سلوک زائر اثر جان بانی ین از شاهکارهای عرفانی ادبیات انگلیس است که در قالب کنایات و استعارات و تشبیهات بیان شده و نموداری است از تلاش روح انسان در جدال با زندگی برای عبور از فراز و نشیب های دوران حیات و رسیدن به وادی رستگاری و تقدس و شرح مخاطرات و مخافات ، غم ها و شکست ها و ناامیدیها یا موفقیت هایی که پیش می آید...مطالب جنبه نمادی دارد در این نمادهای عرفانی ، نویسنده اشخاص مختلفی را تجسم می کند. این اثر مانند برخی از آثار عرفای اسلامی مانند منطق الطیر و قصه الغربه الغریبه داستانی تمثیلی است، با این تفاوت که در اثر شیخ عطار،مرغان نماد سالکانی اند که از وادیها می گذرند اما در اثر جان بانی ین وادیها به صورت شهرها و سرزمینها توصیف شده است. مقصد و هدف مانند داستان شیخ شهاب الدین سهروردی همان ،طور سیناست....کتاب نشانگر سعی وتلاش روحی است که در جست و جوی رستگاری برآمده است....این کتاب در زمانِ خودِ نویسنده چندین بار تجدید چاپ شد هزاران نسخه از آن تهیه شد و در بسیاری از خانه ها در کنار کتاب مقدس جای گرفت مانند کتاب مقدس به زبانهای متعدد ترجمه شد و جان بانی ین را به عنوان طبیب روح شناساند ..."


جان بانی ین کیست؟ ..." واعظ ،عارف و سخنوری توانا که بسیاری از خطابه هایش به صورت بیانیه های دینی باقی مانده است....او یکی از بزرگترین واعظان مذهب پروتستان و از مخالفان کلیسای سلطنتی انگلستان (قرن هفدهم میلادی) بود"... ص14


کتاب شامل سه فصل اصلی است :
سیر و سلوک زائر (که در دو بخش آمده است)
زندگی، اندیشه و آثار جان بانی ین
جان بانی ین و عرفای اسلامی

ماجرای کتاب از این قرار است که روزی نویسنده به خواب میرود ومردی را در خواب می بیند : ..." خواب مرا در ربود، در عالم رویا مردی را دیدم با جامه ژنده که در نقطه ای ایستاده روی برگردانده از دیار، کتابی در دست و باری گران بر پشت...برخود می لرزید با آه و اسف خود را مخاطب قرار داد و گفت :چه کنم؟ چه کنم؟..." ص23

و اینگونه وارد داستان فردی مسیحی می شویم که باری سنگین ( که بعد متوجه می شویم بار گناه است) بر پشت دارد و پریشان خاطر، نمی داند که چه باید کند و کدام سو برود، به سوی خانواده اش می رود و راز دلش را فاش می کند اما همگی تصور می کنند که او هذیان می گوید و نه تنها از سوی آنها بلکه از سوی همسایگان و آشنایان و اهالی دیارش مورد استهزا و سرزنش قرار میگیرد و تنها و رنجیده به سوی مزارع می رود تا اینکه فردی به نام "بشیر" (واعظانی که مژده انجیل و صلح می آورند- مترجم) به سوی او می آید و "دروازه نور و بهجت" را به او نشان می دهد و او به آن سمت می دود در این بین خانواده و چند تن از همسایگان با زاری وشیون پی اش می آیند تا منصرفش کنند و دو نفر از همسایگانش به نام های "خودرای" و "نرمخو" با او گفتگو می کنند....
سرانجام نرمخو متقاعد و همراهش می شود و حرکت می کنند اما در همان ابتدای راه به "باتلاق نومیدی" می رسند و هر دو سخت در آن گرفتار می شوند....و به این ترتیب، مسیحی به مسیر پر ماجرای خود ادامه می دهد و منزل به منزل در راه رسیدن به دروازه نور (بهشت و دیدار) اتفاقات را یکی بعد از دیگری پشت سر میگذارد
...

یکی از ویژگیهای به نظرم جالب و متفاوت داستان، این هست که شخصیت ها و مکان ها به جای اسم خاص، همگی با صفات و خصایص معرفی می شوند مثلا آقای امیدوار، خانم رحمت ، آقای فرصت طلب ، آقای نرمخو ،باتلاق نا امیدی، قلعه قانون ، دیو تردید و ... (این رو هم بگم که این مشخصه، اصلا از بار کسالت داستان کم نمی کند)

از یک جایی به بعد، داستان مرد مسیحی که همان سالک و قهرمان کتاب و به عقیده مترجم، اصلا خود جان بانی ین هست، تکراری، ملال آور و بی هیچ جذبه و حتی منطق خاصی، به سختی و به کُندی پیش میرود، شیوه روایی به نظرم به موازات پیامی که کتاب دارد، به دل نمی شیند و هیچ شور و هیجانی برای پیگیری سرنوشت این زائر نمی آفریند ...ماجراها ضرباهنگ یکنواختی دارند، شخصیت های مثبتش، شبیه کاراکترهای خوب اما تخیلی سریال ها پردازش شدند که فقط حوصله آدم رو سر می برند ....

این بخش (ماجرای مرد مسیحی) که به انتها می رسد در بخش دوم فصل اول، بانی ین، تازه به سراغ خانواده سالک می رود همسر و چهار پسرش که در اثر اتفاقاتی آنها به اشتباهات خود پی می برند و مصمم می شوند که مسیر پدرشان را پیش بگیرند و البته طبق معمول باز هم از سوی اطرافیان تخطئه می شوند اما با مادر و دوشیزه رحمت! (یکی از همسایه های خوبشون...) سفر رو آغاز می کنند و دوباره نویسنده، قشششنگ با حوصله به شرح داستان خانواده سالک می پردازد، دوباره همه همان داستانها و مسایل و افراد خسته کننده و .... راستش اگه عذاب وجدان نمیگرفتم، خلاف رسم همیشگی خودم، کتاب رو از نیمه رها می کردم....


شاید بهترین بخش کتاب، فصل پایانی بود که مترجم، این اثر را با سایر نمونه های عرفانی مثل منطق الطیر و آثاری ازسهروردی، هجویری، جنید بغدادی و ... مقایسه می کند، منازل و مقاماتی که عارفان پشت سر می گذارند و حالاتی که در این مسیر تجربه می کنند (البته در همین قسمت هم به نظرم بعضی ازمطالب یک مقدار تکرار می شد) .
از همه اینها که بگذریم دیشب بعد از اتمام کتاب، فکر می کردم که کلا چه فرقی می کند از اشراق به تفکر یا از تفکر به شهود و اشراق رسیدن؟ اصلا چه اهمیتی دارد که وادی اول چیست و وادی دوم و... کدام؟ این همه طول و تفصیل برای چه؟ اصلا چرا باید مراحل طی طریق را بلد بود؟ چه تفاوتی می کند که علا الدوله سمنانی مقامات را هفت مرحله بداند یا ابوسعید ابوالخیر از چهل مقام نام ببرد؟ مگر انسان استشمام عطر گل و بوستان را مرحله به مرحله می آموزد؟ مگر نگاه کردن به درخت، آداب خاصی دارد؟ یا مگر لذت بردن از نجوای عبور رود و چشمه را در مکتب و محضر می آموزند؟ مگر به غمزه ای، صد مدرس را مبهوت نکردند؟ آن شبانی که خالصانه در پی خالق بود، مراحل و مناسکی را پشت سر گذاشته بود؟ ازسهرودی خبر داشت یا از عطار و سنت آگوستین و جان بانی ین؟....


به هرحال مقصد یک رنگ و مَرکب به هزار رنگ و نقش، راه یکی و بی راهه بی نهایت واین میان، فاصله خط و خطا، یک الف نحیف ....
باز هم نمی دانم...بگذریم ...من ِ ابجد خوان ِ کُنجی نشین را چه به دخالت در اقوال و آثار عرفای نامداری که تاریخ به آنها می بالد ؟

شاید اگر قبل ها به این کتاب می رسیدم ، خاطره مطبوع تری ذهنم شکل می گرفت ، به نظرم مهم هست که انسان چه زمانی رو به روی چه کتابی قرار بگیرد.. در این نوبت، برای من چندان دلنشین نبود، اما شاید وقتی دیگر با حوصله ای تازه شده، برگشتم سراغش...
هرچند خیلی بعید می دانم

[ladydusk · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems like I should have read this years ago and am glad to have finally done so. It is alluded to so often and is such a part of so many books, that I've been feeling its lack in my reading.

I enjoyed the story, the reader, and TBH the teaching in it. It may be didactic and not pure story, but it's still important and the ideas presented are worth considering.

Anyway, this was an "ought" that I needed to mark off my list and I'm glad I enjoyed it anyway :)

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

This isn't easy for me to do, but I admit it. I give up. I can't make myself slog through this anymore.

I picked this up as part of my ongoing project to read classics I've somehow missed out on in the first 31 years of my life. Also, an old friend listed it as one of her 20 Most Memorable Books on facebook, so I was expecting to be moved. Or instructed. Or touched. Maybe that was part of the problem. But I've had it out from the library for 6 weeks, renewed it once already, the due date is looming ever closer and it's not getting any better.

It's an Allegory with a capital "A" and the moralizing is of far more importance than plot or characterization, so it's difficult to find a through story line. Basically, Christian is on a journey and meets with various weakness, temptations, and sins along the way personified as characters. There are interesting insights into human nature and the path to Heaven/The Celestial City, but it's so wordy that the reader has to wade through a whole lot to find those nuggets. I'm sure it's valuable as a Christian text, perhaps similar in its day to C.S. Lewis in ours, but I'm laying it down.

For more book reviews, visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating allegory about man’s search for salvation. The fact that this was first published in 1678 by John Bunyan (1628-1688) and its message still rings true up to now makes this an appropriate read for those who believe in life after death. The only problem is that if you hate classics, then you will find this a struggle to read. Methinks however, that if you like novels with pilgrimage as theme (Paolo Coelho’s Pilgrimage is a good example) or those even crusade adventures like Lord of the Rings, Sword in a Stone, etc., you might find this interesting. Just substitute Celestial City as the destination instead of Mordor (LOTR) and salvation (instead of excalibur (Sword in a Stone) and they are all just the same banana.

The story is divided into 2 parts. The first part has Christian, the father, who dreams one night of a book saying that he will die in pain if he does not find salvation. In that dream, a man called Evangelist has told him that salvation can be found in Celestial City. In the morning, he asks his wife and children if they want to accompany him. They refused. So Christian was joined by two of his neighbors, Obstinate and Pliable but later, the first one goes back. Then soon after experiencing the Slough of Despond, Pliable goes back too to the town where they originate. What follows is the story of Christian’s journey and the people he meets along the way: Help, Worldly Wiseman, Formalist, Hypocrisy, Discretion, Piety, Prudence, Charity, Goodwill, Interpreter, Shining Ones, Apollyon (the devil), Faithful, Talkative, Mr. By-ends, Demas, Giant Despair, Diffidence, Temporary, Ignorance, Flatterer, Atheist, and Hopeful.

Since the first part is about the father, the second is about his family taking the same route to Celestial City. Christian’s wife, Christiana and their sons: Matthew, Joseph, Samuel and James, change their minds and follow Christian to the Celestial City. However, maybe not to bore the readers, there is almost a new set of characters and adventures that Christian in Part 1 did not meet or go through: Sagacity, Mercy, Interpreter, Ill-Favored Ones, Reliever, Mr. Great-Heart, Watchful, Grim, Mr. Brisk, Mercy, Matthew, Dr. Skill, Maul, Mr. Brisk, Old Honest, Mr. Fearing, Gaius, Giant Good-Slay, Heedless, Too-Bold, Mr. Feeble-Mind, Mr. Ready-to-Halt, Mr. Mnason, Contrite, Valiant-for-Truth, Standfast, and Madam Bubble,
I still remember the board game called Snakes and Ladders. This novel is similar to that. Among the characters listed, there are those who are snakes (Apollyon, Obstinate) and there are those who are ladders (Mr. Great-Heart, Help, Faithful, Helpful). The names are obvious so you can figure for yourself.

The use of these terms as names instead of fictional names seems to obviously indicate their roles in the journeys. However, I think it adds to the book’s charm and it makes it an easy read even after 4 decades since its first publication.

Being an allegory, however, it hardly elicited any faith-awakening emotion from me. It is more of an adventure or a fable intended for children. It is just fascinating to be exposed to a 17th century work that deals on faith. Then of course, learning that it had strong influences on the succeeding writers like Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, E. E. Cummings, Alan Moore makes this a worthwhile read.

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 5 out of 5]

January 2925: A comfortable old friend.

*****

January 2024: Sixth annual first-book-of-the-year reading.

*****

January 2023: My fifth annual January read. I want to read this in print next year, so I'm on the lookout for a beautiful hardback edition. Spam me with pics and links — I want to see interiors as well as covers so I can evaluate typesetting and space for notation.

*****

January 2022: in the second part, much is made of how weak and frail Christiana and Mercy are. Part of me thinks, "Nah, Christian women need to be spiritually tough fighters just like Christan men." Another part of me thinks, "Yeeeeees! It is sooooo haaaaaard!" Judging by the whine in option two, I suspect option one is closer to being correct. 😂

Also, let me say again that this is the only audio version worth listening to. Eschew the ones read by women trying to lull their little boys to sleep. You want the one that will inspire little boys (and girls) to fight Apollyon.

*****

January 2021: I seem to have settled into a pattern of revisiting this in January. I am not averse to this pattern.

*****

January 2020: I was confused by something: At one point, Christiana's sons are told to leave their children with others who would care for them (which seemed very odd to me), but then at the end, their children seemed to be with them. Which is it? Or do I misunderstand/misremember something?

*****

May 2019: I am weekly bid come and welcome to Jesus Christ. And I weekly (weakly) doubt that He really wants me. Bunyan reminds me.

*****

January 2019: What a difference a narrator makes! The LibriVox volunteers, bless their hearts, all sound like mamas trying to lull their boys to sleep. Max McLean's recording was recommended to me, but I could not bring myself to set aside my aversion to his voice. But after two friends recommended PP to me in one week, I was determined to give it another go, so I sampled all the ten or so versions on Scribd and settled on David Shaw-Parker's. He performed beautifully all the way through.

This title was a better choice than my last for sickbed listening. I can follow a narrative well enough even when my weary attention flags and wanders. Ah...now I understand why so many have made a habit of reading and rereading this book, and I shall henceforth follow their example. What touched me most was the gentleness shown to the weak (and to the strong in their weak moments). It wasn't excusing of their faults, and it did not fail to exhort them to be better, but it did not abandon and it did not despise. How much better a restorative can gentleness provide than anything exasperation and contempt have to offer!

[Jamie Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some books you read for pleasure, some for enlightenment, and some from a vague sense of obligation. So it is with Pilgrim’s Progress, a classic work of English literature that was such a part of every educated person’s upbringing for two hundred fifty years that I felt I needed to look into it.

After completing the book I consider it a dead classic, a work which meant a great deal to people once, but whose leaden prose and heavy handed allegory offer little to a modern reader. The only reason I can think of for reading it today is that it used to be such a foundational part of people’s lives that allusions to it were common in books and letters through the early part of the twentieth century. For example, in Paul Fussell’s The Great War and Modern Memory he writes that the authors of World War I memoirs frequently used quotes or made references to it to help them make sense of the conflict they were engaged in.

To a modern reader one of the things that stands out about this book is how absolutely certain John Bunyan was about his beliefs, thundering condemnations and consigning people to eternal damnation for what were, in effect, just matters of opinion based on shaky translations of the Bible. Of all the various people representing errors that the pilgrim Christian meets, the one that exemplified this for me was the character of Ignorance. He tried to be a good Christian, led a humble, pious life, performed charitable acts, and sincerely believed he was living as the Bible commanded. He also faced the same hardships and dangers as the Pilgrim as he made his way along the path toward salvation. However, he did not believe what the Puritans believed, which was that mankind is fundamentally wicked, so he was hauled off to hell just as he approached the gates of paradise. No doubt many readers then, and perhaps some now, were smugly sure he got just what he deserved. It is such a narrow minded and intransigent interpretation of Scripture that it actually made me think of a near contemporaneous 1650 quote by Oliver Cromwell, “I beseech you by the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken.”

Bunyan would never admit he might be mistaken; he probably could not have recognized even the possibility of that. It is one of the ironies of history that his Puritan brethren left England, where they were being persecuted for their beliefs, to come to America and persecute others for their beliefs. These are the kind of people who could burn someone at the stake with a clear conscience and the unshakable certainty that they were doing god’s will.

So, the book follows Christian on his journey toward salvation. Along the way he meets the embodiments of good, such as Piety, Charity, and Faithful, and bad, such as Hypocrisy, Atheist, Despair, and, inevitably, Pope, and explains at great length exactly why they deserve their names. Bunyan may have been incapable of doubt about his beliefs, and he was just as incapable of subtlety, irony, or humor. The characters whom Christian disagrees with are mocked, belittled, and dismissed. Even for an allegory, this feels like being bludgeoned with theological arguments both turgid and tendentious.

Bunyan had a vivid imagination, and some of the scenes he creates are interesting, well written, and memorable, but even when he is at his best he is so endlessly pedantic that the reader is left thinking that if these are the kinds of people who get into heaven, hell doesn’t sound so bad after all.

For all its reputation as a classic work of English literature, this one can be skipped.

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing story. When you read it make sure you have your preferred Bible translation with you so that you can read the references.

If you are a note taker or do annotations, make sure the pencil is sharpened, you have plenty of pens, and many 3x5 cards to write on.

I often come back to this story for comfort because it is an allegory. Read it and find out what the allegory is.

[Shirley (stampartiste) · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to read thoughtfully through The Pilgrim's Progress (both Parts One and Two), as it was written as an allegory in 17th century English; but it was well worth the time it took for me to journey through John Bunyan’s allegorical world of faith.

Part One of The Pilgrim's Progress (published in 1678) tells the story of Christian, a man burdened with the knowledge of his sins and the understanding that he cannot continue to live as he has. He undertakes a life’s journey (a pilgrimage) to understand what he must do to be saved. The Pilgrim’s Progress is the story of this pilgrimage, of the people Christian meets (both friend and foe), of the dangers and obstacles that he must face, of fierce battles, of the lessons he learns, and of his eventual success in reaching the everlasting Celestial City.

Part Two of The Pilgrim's Progress (published in 1684) tells the story of Christian’s wife Christiana and their four sons (Matthew, Joseph, Samuel and James) as they undertake their own pilgrimage, along with Christiana’s neighbor Mercy. Where Christian faces many epic bloody battles, Christiana and her fellow travelers are helped along the way by a celestial guide, Mr. Great-Heart. So although there are valuable lessons taught in Part Two, there are not as many exciting encounters as in Part One.

As a Christian who was raised on daily readings of the Bible, I was able to appreciate the allegorical names and events that Bunyan eluded to in his story. I was able to see familiar Biblical references in a whole new light. For me, this was a fascinating read.

As one whose favorite genre are the classics, I was able to see Bunyan’s influence on later writers and their inclusion of Bunyan’s literary terms in their own writings, such as Pilgrim’s Progress, Vanity Fair and the Slough of Despond. So from a literary standpoint, The Pilgrim’s Progress is an important bedrock of literature. Because of its overtly Christian viewpoint, The Pilgrim’s Progress has unfortunately fallen out of favor, but just like Don Quixote, it is a wonderful story of man’s quest for meaning.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catching up with the classics # 4

I found this a rather clever piece of religious and moral teaching. The book consists of two parts-Christian’s travails to reach the Celestial Kingdom then his wife and children follow. I didn’t enjoy part two nearly as much as part one. It was a bit more preachy. But the names of the characters such as: Mrs. Wanton, Mr. Timorous, Mr. Brisk, and the demon-lion Apollyon tell the tales of what our heroes face along the past to enlightenment. Scripture was quoted here and there but only in fragments. Instead of feeling pressured or sermonized, I just felt I was reminded how to live the good life. Which... I’m not soooo materialistic I know I can’t take it with me but I’m going to play and look good until I die.

[Jonathan Terrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd wanted to write this review a while ago. However since I can't write it then I'll have to write it now.

The Pilgrim's Progress is one of the most famous examples of allegory and also one of the most popular books ever published. I've heard that at one time it was as common to find this book in a home as a copy of The Bible.

This was one of those books I was introduced to as a child. You probably think I was an odd kid, reading books like this at 8 or 9 years old. And you'd probably be right. Or rather, perhaps I was slightly advanced for my age. I've always been the sort of reader where at the mere suggestion of a book or author I'd go and investigate them. That was why I read Paradise Lost a few years ago. It is also why I've been reading G.K. Chesterton recently.

For those not in the know this is a story about one man by the name of Pilgrim and his journey through various locations (each one named for an emotional, physical or spiritual hardship or positive). It is the story of one man leaving a life of apathy and setting out to find the truth. A story so endearing it has lasted hundreds of years.

I recommend this. Not just from a sense of nostalgia, but because it is a classic tale. It is a story that has had great consequence historically and has consequence today.