The Holy Man: Book One of the Holy Man Trilogy

In a hermitage at the top of a mountain lives the holy man. Every summer a long line of pilgrims queues at the hermitage entrance and each pilgrim is hoping for words of wisdom from the holy man that will heal their lives. There is the impatient woman who learns peace, the jealous man who learns trust, the famous man who learns humility and the guilty mercenary who finds a mission. In each of the many characters we can see mirrored something of ourselves. Some learn their lessons from other pilgrims, some from the holy man himself; others find answers from the experience of being on the mountain. These stories unravel the knots of everyday anxieties with profound ease, humor, wisdom, and elegance. Perhaps the most winning feature of this book is that we are all in here, somewhere, with our wounded egos, insecurities, bad tempers, impatience and ambitiousness. The Holy man shows us the good we already have in us but cannot see.

The Holy Man is a delightful pilgrim's tale set in the modern world. Written with wit and verve, it tells the story of a gentle-natured disciple who, in the space of a week, moves from fear and doubt to joyful enlightenment. Anna's teacher is Joe, a wise and patient sage who sees in her the acolyte he has long been seeking. As their relationship grows, she begins to assume his mantle, while he sees her become ever more sure-footed. Watching this relationship unfold is wonderful, and Susan Trott shows uncanny insight into the nature of friendship as well as the interplay between pupil and teacher.

But this novel isn't solely about Anna's progression towards enlightenment, since she doesn't come alone to the holy man's door--she is accompanied by her skeptical husband, Errol, and their two children. They, too, have spiritual journeys to make, and in so doing enrich and instruct both Anna and her mentor. The Holy Man is a charming read and an uplifting one that never veers into the sentimental or trite. --Lucas LoBlack, Amazon.co.uk