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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My favorite part about this book is the realization that many of our saints may have been closer to the Whiskey Priest than to the stories we tell about them
just plain love graham greene.
And love the religious tone - like Brideshead Revisited
And love the religious tone - like Brideshead Revisited
Graham Greene writes like a Cormac McCarthy that's a little less concerned with the scenery and more with the people who inhabit it. This was a fantastic pursuit novel that really examines what it means to save souls, the pros and cons of dogma, and what one's responsibility is to society. It seems members of the Catholic Church waffled on whether this book was critical of the church or whether it celebrated it, and I think both interpretations have tons of evidence in the text.
The priest doubts himself and his ability to benefit society: is he worth anything as a priest who's an alcoholic and a father? The police lieutenant chasing the priest wonders if he's doing the right thing by stamping out religion and bolstering social services. Both eventually become convinced that they are doing the right thing, and at that point the novel also becomes an examination of what happens when two people in the grips of opposing dogma each insist they're right. Again, highly recommend.
The priest doubts himself and his ability to benefit society: is he worth anything as a priest who's an alcoholic and a father? The police lieutenant chasing the priest wonders if he's doing the right thing by stamping out religion and bolstering social services. Both eventually become convinced that they are doing the right thing, and at that point the novel also becomes an examination of what happens when two people in the grips of opposing dogma each insist they're right. Again, highly recommend.
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
One of my last mensa books... honestly I just wanted it to be over. I think had I not been burned out, I would've enjoyed the tale of this renegade priest more.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
I struggled to start this book - it launches right into the setting without much preparation and I wasn’t sure who to focus on. I felt like it really came together in the last quarter. All of the themes and motifs started to make sense and find something rich. Not just an examination of what it means to live a good life, to be a pious or just person, but how we understand sin and deservedness. I am no fan of the Catholic Church but i found the priest to be a sympathetic, complicated, incredibly human character who brought the reader on a journey to better understand their own relationship to faith of all kinds.