10 novels about the afterlife

What happens after we die is one of the most intrinsic human questions on the mind of every mortal who has walked this earth. Endless theories about the afterlife and its existence have been posited over the centuries in an attempt to quell our existential dread. But even with the defined dogmas and traditions within religious cultures and the definitive denial in the atheist/materialist camps, we ultimately have almost no idea what happens when we die. It is not something that science can prove (or disprove), and even in the Christian scriptures we see the afterlife described almost entirely in metaphorical images that leave even the most educated biblical scholars behind. This ambiguity about something so central to our human experience can be frustrating and even frightening. But it also leaves room for artists and writers to creatively use the absence of detail to speculate and explore deep and meaningful questions about our existence, our purpose, and our deepest eternal desires.

Below is a list of fiction books by authors who have tackled the question of what happens when we die in a way that offers us some insight into what this burning question can tell us about ourselves, reality, and God.

The Great Divorce by CS Lewis

Novelist, theologian and one of the most influential Christian minds of the 20th century, CS Lewis, wrote a novel that presents a very different view of hell and heaven and the afterlife than before. It’s a story about a man who encounters people in hell who are not there by force, but instead by choice, and explores why they choose not to ride the daily bus that would take them to paradise .

A Brief Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck

This short, satirical book follows a religious man who, to his surprise, wakes up in hell. But the hell he finds himself in is very different from the beliefs he came to believe on earth and which emerged from his religious education. The walls of this hell are not lined with fire and brimstone, but instead with an almost infinite amount of books, only one of which, should he find it, would allow him to leave.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This recent release is a little less heavy in tone than some of the entries on this list. But that certainly doesn’t make it any less thought-provoking. The Midnight Library tells the story of a young woman who commits suicide and wakes up in an infinite library with a librarian who tells her that every book on the endless shelves is the story of her life, if she had made a different choice. We follow her through multiple potential lives, causing the protagonist and reader to reflect on the importance of the choices we make with our limited time on earth.

Dante’s Inferno

Perhaps the most famous (or infamous) book on our list, The Inferno was written by the Italian philosopher and poet Dante Alighieri. It is the first part, together with Purgatory and paradiseby The Divine Comedy, in which Dante writes himself into the epic poem with which he tours hell with his idol, the Roman poet Virgil, on Good Friday. After passing through the gates with the famous inscription “Abandon Hope All Who Enter” on them, they proceed to visit the nine circles of Hell, each with specific punishments for specific sins. Although this work is a fictional account, it has influenced and defined the modern concept and theology of hell more than any other extrabiblical work, and this is where we get the term “poetic justice.”

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

This modern classic abandons the traditional visions of heaven and hell and imagines a very different afterlife experience. We follow the story of an old man who feels like he has led a meaningless life and, after dying in a freak accident, discovers that heaven is not a destination, but a place where five people, both strangers and friends, explain life to You. At once charming, heartbreaking, and moving, this book offers us another way to understand our lives and their ultimate impact and purpose.

New Town by Harry Blamires

A largely unknown book written by a student and friend of CS Lewis, whose style influenced the writing of this fable. New city follows a man who, after his death, wakes up in a small town that seems beautiful at first glance, but beneath the shiny facade is in decline along with the people who live there. While exploring the ‘Old Town’, the man hears stories of the beautiful ‘New Town’ and embarks on a journey to find the place where death no longer exists.

Passage by Connie Willis

This novel follows a research psychologist, Joanna, who studies near-death experiences. When she and her team discover a way to induce a near-death experience, she volunteers as a test subject. After undergoing the process, she wakes up in what appears to be a long tunnel, where she begins her journey through the afterlife.

The afterlife of Gary Sotto

A young adult novel about a Latin American teenager who dies after an attack and spends the rest of the story as a ghost exploring his local community, listening to loved ones’ conversations about him and, after his death, discovering lessons about life.

No exit from John Paul Sarte

Technically a play, but a work of fiction nonetheless. No exit was written by existentialist philosopher Jean Paul Sarte, who writes a vision of hell in which three people are punished by being locked in a room to talk to each other for eternity. This work is the origin of the famous saying: “Hell is other people.”

Between Heaven and Hell by Peter Kreeft

Modern Christian philosopher Peter Kreeft places his book in the middle of an afterlife conversation between three of the most influential minds of the 20th century: John F. Kennedy, Aldous Huxley, and CS Lewis, all of whom died on the same day. in 1963. In their conversations about life and God, we see the philosophies and values ​​that made each so influential.