The Ultimate Intimacy - Hardcover

Klima, Ivan

3.86

144 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802116256 ISBN 13: 9780802116253

Publisher: Grove Pr, 1998

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When a beautiful married woman walks into Pastor Daniel Vedra's life and conjures up memories of his first wife, Jitka, he struggles with the chaos the affair creates for his wife, his children, his vocation, and his future.

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Review:

It's easy to tease out the serious themes in Ivan Klima's novel of ideas--religious belief vs. earthly love; freedom vs. responsibility; skepticism vs. belief; and the burdens of the Communist past vs. those of the capitalist present. But The Ultimate Intimacy is far more than a metaphysical point/counterpoint. Klima's exploration of one crucial year in the life of a good minister, who discovers that truth and passion can be all too distant, is no simple construction. Born in 1944 and having grown up in Czechoslovakia in a time "when hate was publicly proclaimed as something necessary," and now living in an era in which "having a good memory tends to be a disadvantage," Daniel Vedra is determined to live according to the Biblical certainties he proclaims. Alas, at a particularly low point following his mother's death he is distracted by a mysterious (and beautiful) churchgoer, and the two are soon entangled. In lesser hands the situation might be incredible or, at best, credible but hackneyed. In Klima's complex narration, however, Daniel's crisis becomes a powerful drama of faith and, perhaps, salvation.

From the Back Cover:

With the brilliance and humanity that have made him a major figure in world literature, Ivan Klma, in The Ultimate Intimacy (a New York Times Notable Book of the Year), explores the universal themes of love, adultery, and faith. Pastor Daniel Vedra cares for his family and his congregation, ministers to prisoners, and is a sought-after commentator on the rapidly changing society of the Czech Republic. But when a beautiful stranger comes to hear him preach, Daniel soon finds himself falling in love with another man's wife. As his heart stirs, the order that once underpinned Daniel's life begins to unravel. And as a result, he stands to betray everything he has lived for: his family, his vocation, and his God.

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