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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Naiveté In Action, July 6, 2003
Father Frank Darragh is a recent, 1941 product of an Australian Catholic seminary, and is now a curate at a city parish. Author Keneally, a former seminarian himself, totally understands the mind of the young, devout parish priest. Father Darragh has assimilated all of the counseling techniques taught at the seminary, and now tries them out in real life. Alas he has no real understanding of human psychology. When people are mired in the complex, often sordid, problems of life our good priest offers them pious platitudes that provide no help. One thing that the seminary did not prepare him for was the sexual stirrings that begin to intrude when he tries to provide some of his canned counseling to an attractive young mother whose husband is a Japanese prisoner of war. After she rejects his advice, Father Darragh, tries to find ways to see her again, telling himself that he just wants to help her resolve her problems. I guess they didn't teach much about psychological (or physical) denial in the seminary. He does meet with her again, and the visit is quite innocuous, but shortly thereafter the young woman is murdered. Our hero continues to be peripherally involved in the case, which results in increased suspicion by the police, and increased annoyance by his pastor. We follow the stumblings of Father Frank as he sniffs along the murder trail, and gets involved in some other difficulties which even get him beaten up by some tough guys. Keneally is a fine writer, having a great sense of style and wit. I found this to be a comfortable, entertaining tale that was especially appealing to me as I also spent some time in the seminary a century or so ago. Readers who are unfamiliar with Catholic liturgy will be either intrigued by the book's frequent description of it, or perhaps turned off by it. My only nit is that I wasn't tremendously pleased with the story's ending, but, that is probably just my problem. This is a good, literate read, and I have no reservations in recommending it.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The perils of idealism, March 23, 2007
Had I known how little space this novel would give to evoking the ambience of wartime Australia, I wouldn't have bought it -- but if I hadn't, I would have missed a haunting story. Keneally is a Booker Prize-winner who trained for the Catholic priesthood. So this account of a young priest's struggle to apply the pure theory of his creed to world in which in his flock's ordinary imperfections have become compounded by the societal stresses of a threatened Japanese invasion has the constant ring of authenticity. As a Protestant, I don't share lots of Father Darragh's beliefs, but Keneally paints him so vividly and sympathetically that his trials become a story of the timeless human struggle to reconcile "what is" with "what should be" that transcends matters of doctrine.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Innocence assayed, March 2, 2003
Clad equally in priestly vestments and an aura of innocence, Frank Darragh suddenly finds the world crowding his faith. Two great bastions of Empire have succumbed to Japanese invasions, and Frank's Sydney stands imperiled alone. As the remaining outpost of Empire, Sydney has become a military crossroads and, if the Japanese haven't invaded, the Yanks have. They are ubiquitous - on the streets, in pubs, and taking up with Sydney women. One of these women, a "POW widow" encounters Frank, setting off a disturbing chain of events. War is busy time for young men - committment, training, combat. When that young man happens to be a priest, further emotional conflicts needing resolution arise. Social pressures become intense, with people seeking solace wherever it can be found. Frank's confessional has a queue. He's even more popular than the parish priest - "You'll have to put in for overtime!", Fr. Carolan tells him. There's more involved than Frank's light penances. He feels the need to reach out and bring consolation instead of waiting to be asked. That leads him to cross parish boundaries in support of an AWOL soldier. Crossing that line adds further complexity as Frank's confronted with race issues. Between the temptation of a woman, the startling revelation of child abuse, and a murder, Frank leads a hectic existence. In one sense, Keneally's plot is relatively transparent. His characters follow predictable paths once they're introduced. Although not a "mystery" writer, there's a murder and the "perp" can be only one character. With Keneally, this is hardly a shortcoming. His strength is character development, and whatever your opinion of Frank Darragh, Keneally has portrayed him with his usual finesse. As with all Keneally fiction, this book ends with the resolution of a moral dilemma. The impact of that issue has little to do with the plot - it's wholly in the hands of the protagonist. Keneally's command of language and his ability to reveal inner feelings is unmatched and well demonstrated here. Pick up the book and follow the response of a man's discovery of the world.
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