Joanna Cannon is the author of
The Trouble with Goats and Sheep. One of her top ten clerics in fiction, as shared at the
Guardian:
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
Through his nameless “whisky priest”, Greene asks us to decide between virtue and vice in this 1953 novel. A drunk and a sinner, the clergyman picks his way through Mexico, ministering God’s will as best he can, while fighting self-condemnation and overpowering guilt. Chased by the Lieutenant, who believes the church to be fundamentally corrupt, the priest is eventually trapped by his own compassion. The novel caused controversy when first published, but in 1965 Greene was told by Pope Paul VI: “Mr Greene, some aspects of your books are certain to offend some Catholics, but you should pay no attention to that.”
Read about
the other entries on the list.
The Power and the Glory also appears among
Michael Arditti's top ten novels about priests, and on John Mullan's lists of
ten of the best nameless protagonists and
ten of the best episodes of drunkenness in literature. It is one of
seven books that made a difference to Colin Firth.
Also see:
Top ten novels about priests;
Top ten wicked priests in fiction.
--Marshal Zeringue
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