ONE OF OUR PRIESTS IS MISSING

by William J. Weatherby ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 8, 1968

The dilemma of an aging priest confronted by the poverty and nihilism of a crumbling street in modern Britain reflects a popular concern with religion's role in times of changing social orders and racial turmoil. Father Wilkins, grumpy, drinking perhaps a bit too much, irritated by the onerous detail in running a parish, remembering longingly the lush, innocent, comforting Africa, where he spent his early years; yet he refuses the easy answers, expedience, the casual faith, in the face of the ""bad news"" of his street. His failure to save another colored victim from the Street, focuses his anxiety on Etienne, the aloof and angry young lawyer who truly represents the proud new Africa. But the truth emerges in the priest's dying moments: in the wonderful complexity of life there had been love, agony and joy. Although the articulated introspection of several characters pound along with the same cadence, the author has created a believable priest. His interest in a ""new"" religion is serious, affectively concerned. ... Uneven but moving.

Pub Date: March 8, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1968

Categories: FICTION