Holy Mother — Gabrielle Donnelly

For the disparate group of young Catholic comprising Our Lady Of Sorrows (Soho) Parish Society of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Friday night discussions held under the guidance of Father Bob Powers offer an opportunity to mix with others of their own kind. Such meetings have been known to be stormy, but the introduction of beautiful, blonde Alison Beck into their midst arouses all sorts of conflicting emotions - not least in Father Bob, who finds himself stirred in a most unpriestly way. Also attracted are lofty idealist, ultra-English Geoffrey, and the joker of the group, Denis, behind whose flippant exterior lurks a dark secret. These and other members of the group find themselves prey to doubts, rivalries, passions, and misunderstandings, all of which come to the boil in the most unlikely of places, with both shattering and enlightening results. In Holy Mother, Gabrielle Donnelly is writing about the bulk of English Catholic: cradle Catholic, of immigrant stock for the most part, rather than the aristocrats of Evelyn Waugh or the intellectual convets of Graham Greene. A witty and perceptive novel, Holy Mother will appeal to Catholics and non-Catholics alike.