More than a Matter of Taste
More than a Matter of Taste
The Moral Imagination and the Spirit of Literature
by Joshua Hren
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What does it mean to be a reader of good taste? How can we inhabit the moral imagination in a way that avoids heavy-handed moralism? How can we grow in prudential judgment and spiritual discernment while delighting in the books we get lost in? And can looking at the world through the “million windows” of the “house of fiction” really elevate or transfigure the lives we lead?
In More than a Matter of Taste, Joshua Hren explores these questions and presents fresh takes that possess timeless significance. Surveying a selection of fictions old and new, Hren brings a Catholic theological and philosophical vision to bear on good and great books, opening up their moral and spiritual depths. More than a Matter of Taste shows how a robust engagement with the quality of fiction raises the stakes beyond aesthetics into ethics and metaphysical truth.
Readers of every persuasion, both devotees of literature and those who read for pleasure, will find this book a trustworthy guide for what it means to read with moral clarity.
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What People are Saying
“Joshua Hren believes in the power of literature. Not to provide easy moral uplift, much less to ‘make us good’ in any simplistic sense. Great literature’s power, on Hren’s view, is a far more subtle moral force. It is a power that enables us to ‘see’ the human predicament as it truly is, to locate, in Hren’s words, ‘our current position on the continuum that swings from self-deceit to wisdom.’ More than a Matter of Taste gives us an astute critic exercising his powers at a very high level of attainment, and thereby making a rich and inspiring contribution to the current revival of the Catholic literary imagination. For this, we are all happily in Hren’s debt.”
—Daniel McInerny, Author of Beauty & Imitation: A Philosophical Reflection on the Arts and the novel The Good Death of Kate Montclair
“Joshua Hren has written an extraordinary book, learned and wise, offering an unbelievably rich tour through great writers and the thorniest debates about the role of the arts in our moral, political, and spiritual lives. Hren writes with sensitivity, insight, and wonderful stylistic flair. A joy to read.”
—Phil Klay, National Book Award–winning author of Redeployment and Missionaries