It is common for allegorical narratives to delve into other literary works for references and symbols, and God's Grace is no different. What sets it apart, however, is its richness and the encyclopedic range of allusions. The most obvious ones are Defoe's story of Robinson Crusoe (1719) and through it the proto-Robinson, Alexander Selkirk, who actually spent several years on a barren little island off the coast of Chile, and the Hebrew Bible, especially the book of Genesis. God's Grace is divided into six parts: "The Flood," "Cohn's Island," "The Schooltree," "The Virgin in the Trees," "The Voice of the Prophet," and "God's Mercy," which may represent the first six days of Creation. One of the book's leitmotifs is the story of Abraham's sacrifice of his son Isaac at God's request who, at the prompting of Satan, wishes to test the extent of...