The Singer Trilogy: The Mythic Retelling of the Story of the New Testament

Singer Trilogy

by Calvin Miller

By Calvin Miller. The Mythic Retelling of the Story of the New Testament. Includes the full text of three The Singer, The Song, and The Finale in One Volume. ISBN 0-8308-1300.4. ** "This is one of those books I read over and over again. I have read it probably 20 times since my first reading. Calvin Miller puts biblical stories into narrative poems that are so well written they force you to turn the page again and again. This book is the first in the Singer Trilogy, followed by The Song and The Finale. It is a poetic retelling of three biblical The Singer parallels the 4 Gospels, The Song retells the story of Acts, and The Finale is Miller's version of the book of Revelation."--from an Amazon reader review.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Christian, Fantasy, Religion, Christian Fiction, Christianity

494 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Calvin Miller has written over 40 books of popular theology and inspiration. A former pastor, he is professor of preaching and pastoral ministry at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. He and his wife, Joyce, have two grown children.

Reviews

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing piece by Calvin miller, and one of my favorite books of all time. It is written entirely in poetry form with smaller poems and phrases as chapter introductions, for example "A god to big to walk in human shoes, has outgrow all hope of human use, and heavy skeptics weighed down with doubt can never rise to find what God's about" (or something really really close to that I'm going by memory) As for the separate books, each corresponds with a portion of the New Testament 'The Singer' - the gospels, Jesus' life, ministry, death, and resurrection. 'The Song' - work of the apostles in carrying out the ministry, establishing the Church, and enduring persecution. 'The Finale ' - Revelation, the last days and marvelous second coming of Christ.
It's been a long time since I read them, but it makes an excellent pleasure read with the chapters being usually short, and easy enough to read for something light, yet without disengaging your brain. The imagery and creativity in this re-telling was great, I know the style isn't for everyone but I would suggest at least reading 'The Singer', if for no other reason, it's originality, I have yet to find another book like it.

[Bethanny Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetic. In seeing the New Testament retold, it made me think about aspects in a new light.
Re-read it several times, and memorized The Song from book 3. Great classic that should live on. Loved it.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

yes religious, but i am an atheists and still found the poetry beautiful and the images moving. Wonderfully written story.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a fantasy going into the audiobook but wasn't disappointed one bit. It was engaging, poetically written and had a great narrator. Found myself really enjoying this kind of story, if I had known it was religious heavy I've !ight not have read it. Sometimes it's great to go into a book rather blind

[Jaymie Starr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to own this beautiful Trilogy and lent it to a friend only to have it never returned. I forgot how much I loved it and would like to read it again one day. A precious picture of God's redeeming love.

[Burgandy Ice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugely quotable, thought-provoking.

It's a retelling of Jesus' life & ministry that connects to the Bible with poetic strings only. The Troubadour sings, fights, triumphs.

It's a hauntingly fast read that doesn't beg to be agreed with, just thought about. I love it.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading this trilogy 45 years ago as a new Christian. I enjoyed revisiting this allegory.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to read these yearly! They are deeply moving and superbly written 😁

[Lydia Batchelor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. My choir teacher gave me this for graduation, and this is definitely something he read when it came out and it's probably his favorite book, which tells you all you need to know about him. The third part was really long and dense so I didn't enjoy it as much, so my rating is probably closer to 3.5 or 3.75 stars.

[Maggie Dew]

This is an epic retelling of the New Testament with a strong voice into the dark moments / realities of history and humankind (good to note they were all written in the late 70’s). The storytelling through poetry is rich and full! I can see myself picking these books up every year!

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of the three books in this collection, the second was definitely my favorite. Overall, this was a great read.

[Shannon Overbey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the allegory in the first section of this book; the second was pretty solid, too. But the third section got a little too abstract.

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 2 out of 5]

Back in the ’80s, I found this wonderful and profound. We did a musical based on it, so it was a pretty significant thing in my late teen years.

Forty years later...meh. (But nostalgia will likely keep my print copies on my shelf forever.)

I only listened to the first book.

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of my childhood God-indoctrination. And my lifelong love of fantastical stuff. And my junior high appreciation of overwrought poetry. I can't decide if it's really wrong or really fabulous that those three things all go together.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I deeply appreciate the existence of this book. While I feel it didn't fully succeed in its attempt I love so much that someone blazed this trail.

[Warren Torraca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book of poetry that I have ever gotten through, and I just want more. The Singer Trilogy is a very good set of books that is accessible and easy to read. Even more so if you know the source material, the New Testament. The prose makes me wonder if I am missing something, I don't see any initial structure like iambic pentameter, but it definitely flows. Calvin Millers' epic poem takes us on a mythic journey, telling us of the singer and the song he sings. The Singer is constantly against the World Hater, who despises everything that the Father created. The parallels with the New Testament are rather obvious, you don't need to study literature for years to catch them. Of course, I am only saying this after the first go, I think that Miller has things in his writing that pop out on the second go. On the whole, the trilogy follows the structure of the New Testament, the first part is the gospels, the second part is the story of the growing church, and the third is the end times. I would have to say that Millers' writing is great in the first, excellent in the second, and back down to great in the third. I really do think that the second book is the best. The imagery in all of these books is incredible and well done. Not to mention that the artwork throughout is very simple and well done. I enjoy the premise of reading a retelling because it shows different things that I never thought of before. In this trilogy, the focus on martyrdom and the sacrifices they made were so much more in your face than the New Testament. Miller not only took the New Testament, but he took some of the known historical events and made very potent scenes. I think that the characters are still well done, though I found it harder to connect to characters who are serving as representations of other characters. Something about that concept lost some of my connection, they were still well done though. The last book is probably my least favorite, it was rather strange. The idea that there are "death bombs" and dragon-like creatures make it all sort of hard to imagine. It's definitely not a futuristic scene, but it's more advanced than what there was before. What I enjoyed through all of the books was the little intros to each chapter. At the beginning of each chapter, there are little poems usually connecting to what's in the chapter, or giving some overall insight. I found them sometimes amusing or thought-provoking, and that's before I even read the chapter. I do admit that this is my second time trying to read this book. I tried to read this when I was around 12-13 and found that I couldn't concentrate on it. Of course, now I went all the way through, saw the biblical parallels, and enjoyed the whole thing. I recommend this to anyone, even someone who doesn't believe in what the New Testament says can enjoy the narrative, and anyone who does believe can find more insight. Millers' epic retelling of the New Testament is a must-read for older audiences. 4/5 Loved it, just wish the last book didn't make me feel it was the lesser than the other three.

[Megan Willome · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Singer/The Song/The Finale Calvin Miller

I first read this trilogy in middle school, and the books have moved with me ever since, from bookshelf to bookshelf. I hadn't reread it until this month. Oh, I wanted to feel the same way I did about them back then, but I don't. I can't.

As I read through the comments of other Goodreads folks, it sounds like a lot of people first encountered these when they were teenagers. Maybe that's their best audience. After all, in the years since these were published in the '70s, there have been a lot of YA books that are narratives written in verse. Some of those are among my favorite books, like Jacqueline Woodson's "Brown Girl Dreaming" and Kwame Alexander's "The Crossover."

But this is different. This is Christian allegory, with each chapter encircled by pithy quotes (those are the pages I most dog-eared). The metaphor is of a singer, a song, and a finale, and that should totally be Made for Megan, and yet somehow it isn't quite. I still like The Singer the best. The Song has a lot of appropriately disturbing images. The Finale just made me want to revisit C.S. Lewis' The Last Battle.

And yet there are passages that are so lovely. I hadn't forgotten any of the characters, not after all these years.

I agree wholeheartedly with this Goodreads review from Melissa: "I deeply appreciate the existence of this book. While I feel it didn't fully succeed in its attempt I love so much that someone blazed this trail."

Thank you, Calvin Miller. You took a big swing and that ball is still in flight.

Here is the last stanza of The Singer:

"And those who know the Ancient Star-
Song watch with singing for the
sign of footprints in the galaxies
through which the little planet
ride sin routine cycles of despair.
But Joy seldom sleeps for long.
And someday in a lonely moment man-
kind will shake an unfamiliar hand
and find it wounded."

[Erika Mathews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apparently I read the first book in this trilogy once upon a time and rated it two stars.

I have no memory of that reading, nor any inkling of what I disliked about it. I presume at that stage of my life I did not understand nor enjoy the writing style.

Well, this time I read the entire trilogy in a day.

And wow, are there some profound and memorable quotes. Thought provoking is the only word for it.

See, for instance:

“But Joy seldom sleeps for long. And someday in a lonely moment mankind will shake an unfamiliar hand and find it wounded.”

Or:

“And now the great reduction is begun: Earthmaker and his Troubadour are one.”

But truly, you need context to appreciate these quotes. The allegory is profound and on point. Perhaps not perfect, but isn’t profound enough to drive the point home—to point you to the True Earthmaker and Singer?

This isn’t even to mention the delicious poetic use of words. Sometimes a few well chosen words drive the point home far better than paragraphs. And this trilogy is full of that.

Perhaps the third book sports allegory of theology that doesn’t seem to be 100% correct. Who’s to say? It’s a parable, and the questions it raises and meditations it drives hold spiritual and Biblical thoughts that perhaps you’ve never considered. What is life, and what is life in Jesus, and what does Jesus do for us, and how can we advance His kingdom, and how does He live and move within us?

These are questions of a lifetime, and this book addresses them, albeit indirectly through metaphor and analogy.

[Maya Joelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a poetical reimagining of the Gospels. If you have a solid grounding in the Biblical accounts, this is enjoyable and beautiful; if you don't, hopefully this will make you want to read the true story.

Recommended for YA and adult readers. Some mature content.

The Father and his Troubadour sat down
Upon the outer rim of space.
"And here, My Singer," said Earthmaker, "is the crown
Of all my endless skies - the green, brown sphere
Of all my hopes."
He reached and took the round
New planet down, and held it to his ear.
"They're crying, Troubadour," he said. "They cry
So hopelessly." ...

Earthmaker set earth spinning on its way
And said, "Give me your vast infinity
My son; I'll wrap it in a bit of clay.
Then enter Terra microscopically
To love the little souls who weep away
Their lives."
"I will," I said, "set Terra free." ...

And now the great reduction has begun:
Earthmaker and his Troubadour are one.
And here's the new redeeming melody -
The only song that can set Terra free."

---
read April 2016

[Andy Zach · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the tradition of John Bunyan and CS Lewis, Calvin Miller has written a poetic allegory. What is it about? Nothing less than the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are called the World-maker, the Singer, and the Invader respectively. Satan is called the World-hater. Through poetic imagery Mr. Miller depicts the creation, the fall of mankind, and redemption through Christ. He continues the story through the church age and the spread of the gospel, right up to the new heavens and the new Earth and the end of Satan.

Those who know and love the Bible will love this book. So will those who delight in imaginative descriptions and detailed metaphors. The book has my highest recommendation.

[Moriah Mc · Rating 5 out of 5]

“He knew that they would say to him:
‘You are no singer! And even if you are you should sing the songs we know’
And well he knew the penalty of the law. A dreamer could be ostracized in hate for singing songs the world had never heard.

Such songs had sent a thousand singers to their death already.

And the song which dogged his aching steps and begged him pleadingly to sing it was completely unfamiliar. Only the stars and mountains knew it… daily now it played upon his heat and swept his soul”

[Grace T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful writing. I'd read the second book during a class last fall, and getting to reread it in context was great. There may be a few theological issues, but those mainly stem from the difficulties of applying allegory to the Incarnation. And I was bugged a tiiiiiny bit by some approximate rhyming here and there. But otherwise, I really enjoyed this.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This takes a while to get into, but once you get the hang of it (allegory), it is intriguingly fresh. It portrays the life of Christ, the early church, and the end of the world, using very different terminology in order to re-express a well known story in a new way.

[Eric C 1965 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Allegory, poetry are not my usual reading material so l found this work difficult at times. But I can still recognize a good story and this, like Dante and Bunyan, is great, maybe not to quite that degree of greatness. Still, it was fun reading his reimagining of Bible stories, easily recognizable.

[Julia Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting take on the New Testament, it covers from Jesus' ministry and Crucifixion through Acts, to Revelations. The entire book is told in poem-form and there are neat little sayings at the beginning of each section.

[Philip Kneller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technical inaccuracy in the Revelation allegory section, to the point of being problematic. If you can ignore that, fantastic minimalist retelling of the Bible. Inaccuracy aside, I aspire to be such a fantastic storyteller.

[Nancy Balyeat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Classical rendition of the New Testament

I love the style. Intriguing the mind and heart to work harder to catch the meaning...combining stories carefully interwoven from many layers of history into a tale of the battle of Good and Evil at their core.

[Geoff Bretches · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this trilogy. Very deep, enjoyable, and stirring.

[Jay Budzilowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely see the beauty of Miller's artistry, but I just don't find myself enjoying it.

[Jennifer Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book that I read multiple times as a teenager! It is one of those wonderful books that becomes real. The images draw you into a deeper understanding of the beauty of the Gospel message.