Godric (novel)

Godric is a novel published in 1981, written by Frederick Buechner, that tells the semi-fictionalized life story of a medieval Catholic saint: Godric of Finchale. This novel was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

Godric is told in Saint Godric's own voice: Buechner intentionally uses style, tone, and word choice to evoke a "medieval" manner of speaking. The book unfolds with Godric narrating the events of his life in retrospect, as he looks back on his hundred years of life and does not see the saintly existence that many ascribe to him. The honest earthiness of Godric's account of his life -- his candor in describing his most pious acts and most wretched sins -- made this book a critical favorite: the Times (London), for example, noted in its Literary Supplement that "Godric is a living battleground where God fights it out with the world, the Flesh, and the Devil." [1]