Book List: Inspirations for Agnes at the End of the World
Bookish Inspiration
Dearest Readers,
No one writes in a vacuum. Every book is part of a lineage, a tradition, and AGNES AT THE END OF THE WORLD is no exception. While writing, I sought fiction that featured spiritual seekers and religious revolutionaries, as well as memoirs written by women who escaped real-life cults. In fact, it was Carolyn Jessop’s amazing memoir, ESCAPE, that first planted the seed of this story in my mind. I remain fascinated by Jessop’s journey and awed by her resilience.
THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER, by Octavia Butler
It’s no exaggeration to say my book would not exist without Ms. Butler’s. In a dystopian future, a young woman of color is inspired to create her own religion, urging humanity to find its future among the stars. An epic unafraid to tackle race, class, and gender all at once.
ESCAPE, by Carolyn Jessop
Jessop fled the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints—she was, in fact, the first woman to successfully escape the cult and keep her children, too. I have never been so moved by a memoir. Jessop’s book is a study in the resilience of the human spirit, and a psychologically acute chronicle of cult brainwashing and deprogramming.
Z FOR ZACHARIAH, by Robert C. O’Brien
I first read this novel as a teenager myself, and it haunted me for years. Essentially, it’s the story of a teenaged girl who doesn’t let a nuclear dystopia rob her of her love of freedom. Rumor has it that O’Brien died before completing Z FOR ZACHARIAH, and that his wife and daughter finished it for him. I hereby officially nominate my partner and daughter to complete any unfinished manuscripts of mine. (I can’t be the only writer who worries about dying mid-draft—right?)
THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins
OBV, this is a dystopia extraordinaire—but I actually wrote AGNES because I felt I’d seen a few too many female heroines who were super “tough” in a physical sense. Sometimes I worry that our definition of a “strong woman” has gotten as narrow as Wonder Woman’s waist! So, Agnes cannot use an a bow-and-arrow or defeat evil with her fists. Faith is her only superpower.
THE HIRED GIRL, by Laura Amy Schlitz
To me, it’s always been Joan’s unflagging yet probing faith that bestowed this historical novel with such aching beauty.
EDUCATED, by Tara Westover
This book burst onto the scene while I was mid-revision on AGNES AT THE END OF THE WORLD. It perfectly crystallized the pain of realizing that a large and fascinating world has been hidden from you all your life. I tried, too, to capture a bit of that in AGNES.
A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ, Walter M. Miller Jr.
Post-apocalyptic fiction is capable of miracles. This is an older work of science fiction that still holds up today. The empty desert vistas in this novel helped me choose the right landscape for my novel, and I loved how Christian philosophy was so deftly woven into the narrative.
THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, C.S. Lewis
Listen, Aslan needs no introduction from me….
Happy reading, everyone! What books inspire your own fictional works?
Love,
Kelly