Thomas à Kempis's The Imitation of Christ is a timeless devotional guide calling readers to a Christlike life.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.
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| July 2026; Macmillan Audio; 9781250491787 audio (8h 52m), ebook, print; Christian non-fiction |
I like reading (and listening to) classic devotional and theological texts because the language was so beautiful, which is sometimes lacking in modern books. Because it can be more complex with a cadence and wording that is unfamiliar to the modern reader, listening to the audiobook can be difficult. If you are used to listening to audiobooks at a faster pace than 1x, I would recommend slowing this one down at least a little so that you can focus more on the individual words.
Who is Thomas à Kempis?
Kempis was a 15th-century Catholic monk. He was a member of the Congregation of Windesheim, which was part of the Modern Devotion, a reform movement during the late medieval period. He served as sub-prior at Mount St. Agnes. He copied, by hand, the Bible at least 4 times. He wrote several biographies and devotionals. The autographed, 1441, manuscript of Imitation of Christ is kept at the Bibliothèque Royale in Brussels.
Medieval Text Meets Modern Technology
This isn't the first time Imitation of Christ has been recorded as an audiobook. And I love that this text is now accessible to more people because it has been recorded. Macmillan Audio, though, has added yet another layer of technology to this classic spiritual text by using an AI-generated voice for the narrator (at least for my advance copy).
AI voices have come a long way, really fast. This wasn't a robotic voice. If I didn't know it was AI, I would have thought it was a real person. Now, fiction lends itself well to the use of AI voice since there is rarely multiple "voices" needing separate sounds, nor are there emotions for the computer to intone. This is the first time that I've encountered an AI voice for an audiobook (I've used Kindle reader assist to "read" ebooks, and this was way more natural).
The technology used to deliver the book might be modern, but the text is kept in its original form. There are plenty of Thees and Thous. While Kempis was German-Dutch, the narrator has a British accent. So while it isn't like Kempis is talking directly to you, it does feel like you are listening to a sermon (multiply sermons, actually).
The Structure: Devotional Text as an Audiobook
I love listening to devotional books as audiobooks for the big picture overview of the text. But for actual contemplation and study, I'm not sold on the format. I would prefer to hold the book and look at the words on the page. I often want to go back and re-read sections or cross-reference what I'm reading, which isn't easily done with an audiobook. I'm also more likely to be distracted when listening.
The listening experience was made even more difficult because Thomas à Kempis does not include the Biblical reference (book, chapter, and verse). There are occasional mentions of "Paul said" or "Christ said," but largely the Biblical text is interwoven with Kempis own words.
There is a "Call and Response" format where an unnamed disciple speaks to Christ. It has the feel of Old Testament prophets or the Psalms, where the writer poses a question or statement to God, and God responds. It is very poetic, but I felt a little weird about it since I couldn't easily pinpoint the Biblical text that Christ's response came from. Sometimes, I recognized parts of the text, but Kempis expands upon it with explanation in a manner much like Paul. The explanation is fine, I just wasn't sure about blurring the line between what Christ is recorded as having said and what Kempis implies.
The Verdict
This book had a vibe similar to Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God from the 17th century. I also listened to that book and decided it needed a more meditative approach than I could achieve with an audiobook.
Similarly, I feel like The Imitation of Christ needs a more careful, thoughtful reading than I can achieve while listening on my daily driving commute. It really needs an undivided attention to fully contemplate the meaning of Kempis's words.
If you are tempted to try the audiobook, I highly recommend slowing down the narration to near normal so that you have time to really consider what is being said by the author, as I do think it is worthy of serious consideration.
Buy The Imitation of Christ at Amazon
Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.
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