Beim's novel Hymie and the Angel (1998) also has a religious theme, although this work deals with Judaism, not Catholicism. In the story, Hymie, a Polish immigrant during the Great Depression, has not lived a very happy life but still resists when he is visited by Death. An angel comes to Hymie's rescue, beating Death at a game of cards. However, Hymie must find somebody to take his place in death.

My Family: The Jewish Immigrants (1997), a collection of Beim's Jewish-plays, deals with the Jewish immigrant experience in America.

Charles Frazier's novel Cold Mountain (1997) won a National Book Award for its sympathetic portrayal of a Civil War deserter. Inman, a Confederate soldier, is wounded near the end of the war but does not die as expected. He escapes from his Southern hospital bed before he can be sent back to the...