Synopsis
A sweeping novel by the author of Innocent Darkness traces the saga of modern-day Catholicism through the story of Cardinal Galsworthy, a celebrated ecclesiastic who becomes a leading contender to succeed John Paul II. 15,000 first printing.
Reviews
Journalist and novelist Sheehan (Innocent Darkness, 1993, etc.) delivers a bloated and pretentious--if lively--saga of recent Vatican history as seen through the career of one very complicated man. Born to a neglectful American mother and a stiff British nobleman father, young Augustine Galsworthy is a handsome boy, but also a lonely and awkward one. Packed off during WW II to a French school run by Benedictine monks, Augustine is taken under the wing of a priest who's dazzled by the boy's beauty and has a vision of his becoming a cardinal. Finding in the Church the home his selfish parents and muddled nationality have left him craving, Augustine grows in confidence. He finds it difficult, however, to master his carnal temptations, and finally loses his virginity to--and fathers a son by--a woman who picks him up on the streets of Florence. Nevertheless, Augustine takes and keeps his priestly vows and rises quickly in the Church's ranks to become the second-youngest archbishop of the century and, ultimately, a cardinal who plays a critical role in selecting a new Pope. Though Augustine displays his faith through his growing dedication to the Third World poor, he schemes for favor with the relentless shrewdness of a politician or rising CEO, working his way into the intimate acquaintance of four successive Popes while indulging in borderline simony on the side. Augustine also develops a voluptuary temperament, surrounding himself with expensive art, defending the grandeur and ceremony of the Church against attempts to modernize it, and cultivating passionate, if technically chaste, friendships with a series of beautiful women. Finally, he himself is under consideration for the papacy, forcing him to reevaluate the way he's conducted his life. An odd mix of earnest history lessons, turgid efforts at literary prose, and genuinely fascinating glimpses of the inner workings of the Vatican. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Augustine Galsworthy is the son of an English peer and his American wife. A clumsy, stuttering boy, he was sent away to a church-run French school, where his teachers convinced him to become a priest. Augustine grows into a fascinating character?brilliant, handsome, and well suited to the theater and behind-the-scenes politics of the Vatican. He fights his sexual urges but finally surrenders?once. The confidant of several popes, he becomes a wealthy man, climbing to the heights of the church, which he serves ably as diplomat, fund-raiser, and worshipper. The people who cross his path are interesting, if far less so than Augustine himself. When the pope dies, there is a conclave to find his successor. Will it be the ambitious Augustine? Sheehan's (Innocent Darkness, LJ 2/1/93) new book has everything?faith, greed, politics, good and evil, even a little sex. Recommended for general fiction collections.?Barbara Maslekoff, Ohioana Lib., Columbus, Ohio
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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