The Pilgrim's Progress (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

~ John Bunyan (Author), Roger Pooley (Editor)
Key Phrases: celestial gate, Celestial City, Giant Despair, City of Destruction (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A new edition of one of the greatest allegorical stories ever written

A masterpiece of the English Puritan tradition, The Pilgrim’s Progress is rich in its imaginative power and its vivid and heartfelt language. It recounts the story of Christian, who appears to the author in a dream, and his journey to Heaven through the trials and tribulations of life. He meets many like-minded pilgrims on his way, such as Faithful and Hopeful, but before they attain their goal they encounter the Giant Despair and the River of Death itself. Translated into more than one hundred languages, The Pilgrim’s Progress continues to have an immeasurable influence on English literature.

About the Author

John Bunyan (1628–1688) was a Baptist preacher and the author of more than sixty books and tracts.

Roger Pooley teaches at Keele University in Staffordshire, England, and is a member of the International John Bunyan Society.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (January 27, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141439718
• ISBN-13: 978-1409232988
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,127 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Readers who embark on the quest of completing this book (and see it through), like Christian, shall be richly rewarded!, March 17, 2009

By	J. D. Seagraves (Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was originally going to title this review, "I Can't Believe I Liked This Book!" I started reading The Pilgrim's Progress as part of a quest to read history's great novels. After making my way through Cervantes's Don Quixote (which took me 82 days), I began reading The Pilgrim's Progress in small chunks, and got through the first 100 pages or so in about two weeks... And then I stopped.

Four months later, I resumed my quest. This time, I committed myself to reading in longer blocks of time. After all, The Pilgrim's Progress consists of two ~130-page Parts, neither of which is broken down into smaller chapter units, so stopping and starting seriously disrupts the flow. Still, I was having difficulty. The language is so archaic and the allegories are particularly hard to follow for someone (such as myself) with virtually no background in Biblical studies. But then a funny thing happened: in attempting to demonstrate the difficulty of the language to my wife, I began reading aloud... And then everything started to sink in, for me! I offer this as a tip to anyone else who at first has trouble getting into the book.

Prior to my experiment with reading aloud, I would often find myself needing to go back and re-read a paragraph or even a half-page. This is not a book that you can read casually -- you must be in deep concentration while reading. The payoff, however, is definitely worth it. This is a tale, after all, that has stood the test of time: the most influential English-language book in all of Christendom.

The story of the more-famous First Part centers around Christian, who was formerly known as Graceless. He has a vision of the destruction of his city (City of Destruction, which is an allegory for the world) and decides to set off on a quest for deliverance -- abandoning his wife and children, who refuse to come with him. This was a difficult part for me: was the author Bunyan advocating the abandonment of one's family in pursuit of religion? Luckily, this was cleared up with the less-famous, but ultimately more rewarding Second Part, in which Christiana (Christian's wife) decides to follow in her husband's footsteps. This part of the book is filled with less adventure, fewer allegories, but instead displays the richness of middle-class Puritan family life in Bunyan's time and disposes of any concern that Bunyan and his book might be anti-family. There's even a short but attention-grabbing section exalting women above men; talking about how it is they who originally followed Christ, while men were afraid or ignorant.

In my second attempt to read The Pilgrim's Progress, I completed the task in eight days. Once I got into the book, the archaism of the language fell by the wayside, and I was able to read it as I would a normal book. I finished the Second Part in two days. I can't honestly give the book five stars, but it deserves a solid four.

In a way, my experience with this book sort of mirrored the difficulties Christian faced in his spiritual quest. I've read of numerous people having difficulty completing the book, so maybe it is best for them to put things into perspective: if Christian could complete the pilgrimage, you can make it through this book! And while your reward for doing so will be nothing in compared to that which Christian received, proportionally speaking, you'll be just as richly rewarded for having completed this classic.