Office of Innocence

I did not find the priest sympathetic. I actually did not like him even though he was a good-hearted sort. He came off as whiny and cold somehow. The position of the monsignor and church higher-ups is virtually indecipherable. I could not tell if Mr. Kenneally thought them wise or heartless.

There is a lot of tension brought by what the proper role of a priest should be. I found that part of the book interesting. However, the plot line was predictable and, as noted, the characters did not add much to the book. Even the "bad guy" was predictable, although the last portion of the book when the bad guy is identified is the best part. Unfortunately, you have to trod through a few hundred pages of drudgery to get there.

And so we meet young curator Frank Darragh, whose specialty - if not his foremost - joy it is, to hear confession and then to absolve the sinner. Now Frank meets young and good-looking Kate Heggerty, whose husband has been taken prisoners by the Germans in North Africa, Kate is a proud woman who stands by her deeds and does not need a confession. Frank, of course, sees this differently.

Frank now wrestles with the soul of Kate and seems bent on wrestling with her body, as well. But Keneally is far too good a writer to follow such a cliche. Kate - the Temptress - is killed by strangulation.

Now we meet Fratelli, an MP in the US Army. Fratelli is the Devil. He knows the catholic canon inside out, is very soft-spoken and paid court to Kate Heggerty. Frank - who is rather innocent about humans - thinks a lot of him. But then Fratelli turns and accuses Frank of stealing Kate's soul from his grip and having started to also steal her body. Fratelli goes after Frank, who is already in deep trouble with his pastor and the hierarchy all the way to Sidney.

Will Father Frank be damaged? Or will he be destroyed?

Read all about it.

One thing that the seminary did not prepare him for was the sexual stirrings that begin to intrude when he tries to provide some of his canned counseling to an attractive young mother whose husband is a Japanese prisoner of war. After she rejects his advice, Father Darragh, tries to find ways to see her again, telling himself that he just wants to help her resolve her problems. I guess they didn't teach much about psychological (or physical) denial in the seminary.

He does meet with her again, and the visit is quite innocuous, but shortly thereafter the young woman is murdered. Our hero continues to be peripherally involved in the case, which results in increased suspicion by the police, and increased annoyance by his pastor. We follow the stumblings of Father Frank as he sniffs along the murder trail, and gets involved in some other difficulties which even get him beaten up by some tough guys.

Keneally is a fine writer, having a great sense of style and wit. I found this to be a comfortable, entertaining tale that was especially appealing to me as I also spent some time in the seminary a century or so ago. Readers who are unfamiliar with Catholic liturgy will be either intrigued by the book's frequent description of it, or perhaps turned off by it. My only nit is that I wasn't tremendously pleased with the story's ending, but, that is probably just my problem. This is a good, literate read, and I have no reservations in recommending it.