In the 1950s a survey found that readers thought that it was the most boring book they have ever read. It is considered to be a precursor to the novel. It was written by a poor, lower class "tinker." It is a timeless classic. Perhaps critiquing it would be like critiquing the Mona Lisa. The early literary critics had nothing but adulation for it. Finding some negative evaluation would be an interesting find. It is interesting that in 1913 a James Baldwin rewrote it without any allusions to religion in what he entitled John Bunyan's Dream Story.