'When I enter a church I normally seek out a place of quiet. A place where I can be alone for a few minutes. Alone to collect my thoughts, to talk to myself and to God. It is for this reason that my priority is usually to seek out the toilet.'
This opening paragraph sets the scene for Thom Braun's book 'Holy orders'. It's the story of Michael Dunn's dual existence as a non-stipendiary minister in the Anglican church, and director of a busy advertising agency in London where he earns his living during the week. The book is told in the first person, combining light-hearted humour with more serious anecdotes. It's based somewhat on experience, since the author himself combines two similar careers, but does not claim to be autobiographical.
The book begins with Michael's ordination, a ceremony which takes place after a few days of retreat. Michael is clearly not a run-of-the mill minister. While other ordinands have bought clerical shirts in black, or perhaps dark blue or grey, Michael has managed to obtain three custom-made ones: one in yellow, one in blue and red stripes, one black with white polka-dot spots. After astounding his fellow ordinands by choosing the polka-dot shirt for the big day, he offers lifts in his car to the Cathedral. Then he gets completely lost after taking the advice of one of his passengers about a 'short cut', after which he's stopped by the police for speeding.
The book isn't all farcical, however. Serious moments of reflection run alongside the unlikely and amusing anecdotes with which Michael's life is peppered. After his hair-raising trip to the Cathedral, he describes the hair rising on the back of his neck as they process in for the ceremony. 'When the bishop placed his hands on my head', he continues, 'I felt awash with the beauty of the moment'. He is overwhelmed by an awe-inspiring sense of responsibility, and deep humility, combined with a wonderful assurance of God's love.
Subsequent chapters show Michael both in his day job in the advertising world, and learning to play his part as a curate at weekends. In his advertising job, his colleagues are naturally curious - and a little puzzled - about his new life. Michael himself wonders how he can reconcile his two vastly different vocations. But gradually, despite plenty of mistakes, he finds that he can be a minister - when needed - in his workplace, and equally that he can bring his creative flair for advertising to good use within his role as a curate. The heart of the Christian message is explained in a roundabout sort of way, in an appropriate context to someone who is curious. But it's not done in a cringeworthy way (in my view, anyway) as can so often happen in books of this sort.
Michael comes across as a likeable person who enjoys being in the centre of attention, but who never minds being teased. He admits his mistakes readily and is happy to laugh at himself. He's well supported by his wife Cheryl and daughter Amy, and although they don't play huge roles in the book they too come across as delightful characters. His colleagues both in the office and in the church are also well-drawn, slightly caricatured perhaps, but none the worse for that. They are distinct enough that I had no difficulty remembering who was who.
This isn't the kind of book I would normally buy. It was obviously a light read and not very long. However it was on special offer and I thought it was something the whole family would probably enjoy in a low-key way. I didn't have high expectations, but found myself pleasantly surprised. There is a nice mixture of amusing and moving moments, and interesting insights into the workings of the Church of England - albeit with rather more embarrassing incidents than would (I assume) normally happen in the life of the average curate.
I think this book would appeal to anyone with a sense of humour who has an interest in either the church or the advertising world, or indeed both. It's an easy enough read - something to pick up and peruse in odd moments, with each chapter more-or-less complete in itself. Naturally enough there's no horror, no sex, no bad language, no violence, not even a crime to solve. Indeed there's not all that much of a plot. The book simply covers the first six months of Michael's dual career.
Yet somehow it's an appealing book. My teenage sons enjoyed it too, and it's one we'll probably all re-read at odd times when we want something relaxing, easy, and mildly amusing. There's a sequel called 'Free spirits'; having enjoyed this one, we may well go ahead and buy that too.
Recommended, particularly for anyone who knows anything about the Church of England.
Libby Purves is best known as a broadcaster and journalist. She has written eight novels, mostly focusing in a low-key way on family problems and their resolutions. Her media background is perhaps what helps her to touch realistically upon contemporary issues in fiction, to raise awareness without judgement or preaching. I have just finished 'A Long Walk in Wintertime', and thoroughly enjoyed it.
This is a fairly short novel - only 275 pages in paperback - yet as I read, I felt as if I was transported to the lives of the people concerned. I began it last Sunday morning, read most of the afternoon, a few chapters at a time, and by 10.00pm was so eager to know what happened that I continued reading way past my normal bedtime until I got to the highly satisfactory ending.
As with so many books, A Long Walk in Wintertime doesn't fit any genre easily. It's likely to appeal mainly to women, and it's modern (set in 1996, the year it was written). It is rather thought-provoking in places, and has no explicit scenes, so it can't really be considered chick-lit. It contains an adventure with a bit of suspense, but it's certainly not a thriller. It's both character-driven and plot-driven, and it raises a few contemporary 'issues' - but in such a low-key way that they don't dominate the book. There's some satirical humour, but I wouldn't call it an amusing book overall.
As the blurb on the back says, this book is about Alice and Dan, who are happily married until a crisis hits them. Each then has to grow and learn separately before they can overcome the crisis and move forward.
It's also about family life, since they have two teenagers: Clem, a confident, sporty, organised girl of fourteen, and Jamie, a quiet, artistic, rather withdrawn boy of twelve. As the book opens, we learn that Clem has decided to attend a specialist sports boarding school. To do so, she's done all the research, made most of her own arrangements, and even won a scholarship to enable her parents to afford it.
Jamie, by contrast, is desperately unhappy at his comprehensive school where the art teacher considers his design-work to be rubbish. My heart went out to Jamie immediately, particularly when it seems that the only person who really understood how he was feeling is his sister.
The dialogue flows smoothly and easily. The characters are clearly established and separate; perhaps slightly caricatured, but not unbelievably so. Their actions and speech tells us all we need to know about them, and each sentence moves the book forward at just the right pace for my tastes.
Unlike family sagas, there are no scenic descriptions in this book. It's set initially in London, and then in Norfolk, but although the writing mentions specific places and streets, there's no extraneous description. We see places through the eyes of the characters, who are already used to what they see, rather than being told what a newcomer might observe. I find this refreshing and very much appreciate it.
The whole concept of the importance of marriage and family life is raised in this book many times, and considered at different levels. Alice, who almost believes herself to be part of one of her favourite operas at times, has to deal with emotions in the real world which are far removed from those on stage.
There is also significant focus on education, something I particularly appreciated. Libby Purves does not hold a rose-coloured view of British schooling! The comprehensive school in London which Jamie attends at the start of the book is clearly unsuited to his personality. As his parents become more self-absorbed with their own problems, and with Clem away at boarding school, we see Jamie neglected emotionally and his favourite hobby becoming an obsession. When, later in the book, the opportunity comes for him to do something creative that built his self-esteem, even though it means missing several weeks of school, the advantages are pointed out clearly.
As well as these major issues, the novel touches lightly on career-women, traditional upwardly-mobile families and gay couples. Each of these is somewhat stereotyped in behaviour and mannerisms, but I didn't find that to be a disadvantage. They were still believable people, with deep emotions that were perhaps all the more striking when coming from caricatured types.
To my mind, the biggest potential disadvantage of this book is the title! 'A Long Walk in Wintertime' implies something slow-moving, with a focus on snow and cold. While the book does mostly take place in winter, the pace is rapid and there's very little walking. However it was only afterwards, looking at the Christmas-card scene on the front of the book, that I realised how incongruous it was.
There's also rather more coincidence than is usually accepted in a novel, and one or two unlikely events - but although I can be a pedant, these didn't detract at all from my enjoyment of the book. Perhaps this is because they were tinged with humour. It was only after finishing, and thinking it over, that I realised I had become so involved in this world that I accepted these events without question.
All in all, for anyone wanting a relatively short, enjoyable read with emotion, humour, and a 'feel-good' ending, I can highly recommend this book.
Review copyright 2004 Sue's Book Reviews
