Over at the Sovereign Grace blog, my friend C.J. Mahaney has posted the transcript of his dinnertime conversation with biblical counselor David Powlison. A few weeks back I mentioned this conversation on the blog. C.J.’s posts contain further details.

Dr. Powlison’s literature recommendations included two “pastoral” titles:

• Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
• Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

And six “dark realism” titles:

• Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
• The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O’Neill
• Anton Chekhov’s Short Stories
• A short story by Raymond Carver
• Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
• The Plague by Albert Camus

For more background on the pastoral usefulness of these literary works, please read C.J.’s interview posts:

David Powlison on Literature (1)

David Powlison on Literature (2)