A Private Man
David Fletcher commits himself to God and the Catholic priesthood for life, training in a seminary in Rome and savoring the rituals of worship and daily living. As a young woman in the early 1960s, Margaret is drawn to Catholicism to center her aimless life. She is ardent in her faith and excited by the revolutionary attitudes toward women and sex that appear to be coming to the church. She trains in theology in Rome sometime after David—unknown to her—left, returning to England to teach in a girls’ school in the parish where he serves. When Margaret is old, widowed, and suffering intermittently from dementia, her grandson Adrian comes to France to care for her. Only then does he learn the story of his grandparents’ forbidden love that his mother, their only child, kept secret. So begins David and Margaret’s story, their faith and piety set against their mutual intellectual stimulation and passion. The Second Vatican Council doesn’t bring the church as far into the contemporary world as Margaret had hoped: priests must remain celibate and women cannot be clerics. She and David must make their own way.
This unusual story is compellingly told, but what makes this novel outstanding is Sy-Quia’s writing. An award-winning poet, her shimmering style enriches her descriptions and illuminates characters’ emotions. It is rare to find a novel that goes so deeply into the complexities of intimately relating to another person in mind, spirit, and body—the sacrifice, joy, and ever-changing nature of human connection. The novel flows and ripples, blurring firm plot lines as it reveals the story. Highly recommended for Sy-Quia’s luminous style and David and Margaret’s unique relationship.
