A review by megmcardle
BE NEAR ME by Andrew O'Hagan, Andrew O'Hagan

4.0

When you hear that the story is about a Catholic priest, you can't help but fear that you know where you are going. But this delicately written, complicated story takes you many other places. Father David does not fit in in the insular, conservative Scottish town where he has come to be near his ailing mother. He would have stuck out simply for being Catholic in the mostly Protestant north, but his being English and Oxford-educated set him even further apart. The writing is gorgeous, if slightly obtuse at times, and the main character is deeply flawed, but somehow still appealing, if not always sympathetic. Highly recommended.