A worthy read for anyone stirred by the plight of marriage in modern times.
A theological drama that pits the sanctity of church law against the irrepressible nature of human desire.
In this complex debut novel, Bosworth explores the fraught issue of marriage. A newly minted cardinal, Harold Farley, is seen as a flawless adherent to church law, as he interprets it in an emotionally aloof, unyielding and cerebral way. The pope appoints him to head a new commission to investigate the state of marriage in the world—with particular emphasis on the United States—and to assess the church’s long-unrevised doctrine on matrimony. Farley’s mission is made tougher, however, by personal challenges. His secretary, Karen, has fallen in love with a man she longs to marry, but because he’s been divorced, the church forbids her to do so. Everyone, including Farley, concedes the man’s fundamental goodness, which makes the prohibition even more maddening. Farley also finds himself having romantic feelings for a close friend—and his predicament worsens when her dutiful husband suddenly dies in a plane crash. The author skillfully weighs the importance of church teachings against modern circumstances that threaten to render them draconian, if not obsolete. Farley’s personal travails force him to reconsider his staunch defense of laws that permit no exceptions. “I feel we’ll be locked into this commission for some time to come,” Farley says, “but I am hopeful that somewhere along the line, a compromise will be reached. We’ve simply got to find a solution.” The action can sometimes be very slow to unfold, and Bosworth has a tendency to overexplain his character’s thoughts rather than allowing them to reveal themselves through action and dialogue. It’s difficult, however, not to be impressed by the philosophical depth and balance of his book’s overall message.
A worthy read for anyone stirred by the plight of marriage in modern times.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1630638047
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Tate Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
This first novel, ostensibly about the friendship between two boys, Reuven and Danny, from the time when they are fourteen on opposing yeshiva ball clubs, is actually a gently didactic differentiation between two aspects of the Jewish faith, the Hasidic and the Orthodox. Primarily the Hasidic, the little known mystics with their beards, earlocks and stringently reclusive way of life. According to Reuven's father who is a Zionist, an activist, they are fanatics; according to Danny's, other Jews are apostates and Zionists "goyim." The schisms here are reflected through discussions, between fathers and sons, and through the separation imposed on the two boys for two years which still does not affect their lasting friendship or enduring hopes: Danny goes on to become a psychiatrist refusing his inherited position of "tzaddik"; Reuven a rabbi.... The explanation, in fact exegesis, of Jewish culture and learning, of the special dedication of the Hasidic with its emphasis on mind and soul, is done in sufficiently facile form to engage one's interest and sentiment. The publishers however see a much wider audience for The Chosen. If they "rub their tzitzis for good luck,"—perhaps—although we doubt it.
Pub Date: April 28, 1967
ISBN: 0449911543
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1967
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