Book Review: Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

I'm a little ashamed that I'm 27 and just now getting around to reading this incredible book.  John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is second only to the Bible as a Christian publication as far as how widely published and read it is.  The book is an allegory for the Christian life and follows Christian (the main character) as he embarks on his pilgrimage.  Along the  way he encounters a host of characters, some who encourage him in his walk with the Lord, others who try to distract him from the Way.  Bunyan has a knack for symbolism and uses it abundantly throughout the book.  For example, shortly after setting out along the Way, Christian comes to the Swamp of Despondence, in which he becomes mired and nearly loses hope of ever getting out.  Christians experience this kind of despondency in real life as well when we become too focused on the things of this world and lose sight of Jesus.  The people and problems that Christian encounters along the Way are easy for us to relate to, since we have all had similar experiences.

What I love most about the book was the way it is steeped in scripture.  Bunyan uses over 200 direct quotations from scripture, making this book the most scripturally-based book ever written.  Within the text are footnotes for each reference, which is written out at the end of the chapter.  I often found myself reaching for my Bible as I read the book in order to look up the specific reference.

There have been many editions of Pilgrim's Progress printed since it's original publication in 1678.  I read the version in modern English, since I found the original language a bit tedious.  My version was updated and revised by L.Edward Hazelbaker, and he took great care to preserve the original intent of the language while still making the text readable.  This is an incredible book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone!