A Corner of the Veil - Hardcover

Cosse, Laurence

3.5

200 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0684846675 ISBN 13: 9780684846675

Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999

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When Father Bertrand Beaulieu stumbles upon a handwritten document that proves the existence of God, his discovery has a profound impact on the church and the nation as both institutions move to suppress the news, fearing the repercussions of the document in terms of their own power. 25,000 first printing.

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Review:

On Monday, May 24, 1999 at 8:32 p.m. precisely, Father Bertrand Beaulieu of the French Society of Casuists opens a thick, handwritten letter and makes a stunning discovery: "Six pages further, he was trembling. This time the proof was neither arithmetical, nor physical, nor esthetical, nor astronomical; it was irrefutable. The proof of God's existence had been achieved." One of the many delights in Laurence Coss�'s darkly funny ecclesiastical thriller, A Corner of the Veil, is the fact that the reader must accept the existence of this proof on faith. Though a handful of characters read the letter and are profoundly affected by it, Coss� holds her cards (and her proof) close to the vest; we never see it. In Father Beaulieu's mind, however, there's no doubt that what he has is the real magilla. He hurries to his friend Father Herv� Montgaroult, who, after explaining in detail and at length why it is impossible to prove the Almighty's existence, reads the proof himself and instantly falls into a beatific meditation on a world without doubt:

There would be no such thing as success any longer: Do the sea or the sky have success? No more failure: Does a tree know failure? No more hierarchy among men: Is the night superior to the river?

Bertrand and Herv� bring the letter to their superior, Father Hubert Le Dangeolet, who refuses to actually read the thing and tells them to keep it absolutely secret until he can figure out what to do with it. Unfortunately, in a moment of bliss, Herv� has already revealed the monumental news to his sister, who happens to be married to a high-ranking official in the French government. Soon, word of it reaches the Prime Minister and before long the entire French cabinet is involved. Once politicians involve themselves in this momentous event, A Corner of the Veil really takes off--and Coss� demonstrates that elected officials are not the only political animals to reckon with. As the author pits priest against priest and pol against pol in a life-and-death struggle over the ultimate fate of the proof, God gets lost (literally) in the shuffle. By the end of this provocative, literary page-turner, you'll be wondering if it's the Almighty or the Devil pulling the strings. --Alix Wilber

About the Author:

After studying political science and law, Laurence Coss� was a journalist for Radio France and the newspaper Le Quotidien de Paris. The author of six novels, she lives in Paris.

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