Customer Reviews

Office of Innocence

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This novel is about a young priest in Australia at the beginning of WWII when Australia was worried about Japanese invasion and dealing with the invasion of American soldiers. The young man gets involved (as a priest only) with a woman who eventually is murdered. The confessional and the problems it brings to the priest are central to the plot.

I did not find the priest sympathetic. I actually did not like him even though he was a good-hearted sort. He came off as whiny and cold somehow. The position of the monsignor and church higher-ups is virtually indecipherable. I could not tell if Mr. Kenneally thought them wise or heartless.

There is a lot of tension brought by what the proper role of a priest should be. I found that part of the book interesting. However, the plot line was predictable and, as noted, the characters did not add much to the book. Even the "bad guy" was predictable, although the last portion of the book when the bad guy is identified is the best part. Unfortunately, you have to trod through a few hundred pages of drudgery to get there.

Office of Innocence tells a somewhat familiar story (that of a young priest experiencing an inner crisis) in a different way. The fact that the story is set takes place in World War II helps because it gives it added drama. Frank Darragh is tempted by a POW widow, and he's faced with difficult choices because of his feelings for her. This novel is also a mystery story. All the plot elements all come together very well. Office of Innocence is not Mr. Keneally's best book, but it's readable and enjoyable.

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, he provides a murder and the perpetrator 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. ...

Frank Darragh's tale is an ancient one dealing with the perils of innocence in a society where paradise is not only lost but long gone. He is a priest living in rural Australia trying his best to be ethical and human at a time when it appeared that the Japanese were about to invade Australia during World War II. It's painful in places to see where Darragh takes his good faith and how the world and his church make him pay for it. Keneally weaves the tale artfully and takes the big questions head-on. His language is spare but he is able to paint living vistas and round characters in only a few well-drawn brush strokes. His writing is compelling as much for its art as for his considerable skills as a gifted story-teller. I was dazzled by this novel and am confident that Keneally is destined for great acclaim as a novelist who possesses a commanding presence on the contemporary literary landscape.

The place is a suburb of Sidney in New South Wales. The time is 1942. The Japanese armies are advancing and the Australians believe an invasion to be inevitable. Singapore has fallen, Darwin has been bombed, and people are extremely nervous.

And so we meet young curator Frank Darragh, whose specialty - if not his foremost - joy it is, to hear confession and then to absolve the sinner. Now Frank meets young and good-looking Kate Heggerty, whose husband has been taken prisoners by the Germans in North Africa, Kate is a proud woman who stands by her deeds and does not need a confession. Frank, of course, sees this differently.

Frank now wrestles with the soul of Kate and seems bent on wrestling with her body, as well. But Keneally is far too good a writer to follow such a cliche. Kate - the Temptress - is killed by strangulation.

Now we meet Fratelli, an MP in the US Army. Fratelli is the Devil. He knows the catholic canon inside out, is very soft-spoken and paid court to Kate Heggerty. Frank - who is rather innocent about humans - thinks a lot of him. But then Fratelli turns and accuses Frank of stealing Kate's soul from his grip and having started to also steal her body. Fratelli goes after Frank, who is already in deep trouble with his pastor and the hierarchy all the way to Sidney.

Will Father Frank be damaged? Or will he be destroyed?

Read all about it.

Keneally writes reasonably well -- not exciting, but serviceable prose. Possibly if you are a committed Catholic and interested in the difference between today's Catholic beliefs and those of fifty years ago, this novel might keep you awake. Otherwise, this novel is exhausting in its exploration of an inexperienced priest's coming-of-age, and the plot is slow-paced--I couldn't make it to the promised murder. Besides, the victim was so uninteresting, I couldn't bring myself to care who might have killed her.