"In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart,"

First published in 1678 'The Pilgrim’s Progress' is essentially two books i one. The first begins with a man named Christian, who lives in the City of Destruction, having a dreamlike vision, of a man dressed in rags, with the Bible in one hand and a great lump on his back: his sins. Moved by his vision Christian decides to undertake a quest, leaving behind his wife and four young sons, for the Celestial City. Christian is pursued by two neighbours, Obstinate and Pliable, but both decide to turn back at their first difficulty.

Many trials follow on the way, including a journey through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, where his faith is sorely tested but at long last, he arrives at the Celestial City, a city whose buildings are coated in gems and the streets are made of gold, only to wake up to find that the whole thing was a dream.

In the second half of the book Christian's wife Christiana sets off, accompanied by her four sons and their neighbour Mercie, to follow in her husband's footsteps.

Whether or not this book can be classed as a novel in the true sense is a tricky question, but what isn't in doubt is that this book that can be read in more than one way. To adults it is a deeply allegorical work about salvation and the temptations the true believer must overcome to attain it. Whereas younger readers might simply read it as a tale of high adventure, peril and make believe. But what isn't in doubt is the fact that this has been a deeply influential tale down the centuries.

I struggled initially with the oldie-world language with its many biblical references but soon got in the swing of it. I found the first half quite interesting and lightly humorous but found the second half somewhat dull and repetitive.

So, did I enjoy it? Let's just say that I'm glad that I've finally read it, but I can't in all honesty say that it has changed my opinion about religion one way or the other one jot. ( )