Summer Book

KIRKUS REVIEW

Rarely have I been so stirred by a book as by this new novel from the author of The Citadel. If I were a bookseller, I should tell my customers that this was no romance, no glamorous creative achievement, no fast-paced adventure tale to take one's mind off the war. But that here -- in Father Francis, the Scots priest who is the central figure, was a character who justified one's faith in right winning its own reward. In the basic goodness of man; in ""tolerance as the highest virtue. Humility comes next""; in essential goodness being interesting and challenging. Francis Chisholm was urged towards the church by a deep inarticulate conviction of vocation -- and by a tragedy in his youth. His was never a routine acceptance of the trappings of his faith; but the inner flame burned steadily. Outwardly, he seemed a failure, whether in brief tenure in Scotland; or during years in the Chinese mission field. Actually, his career won -- from even his enemies, his detractors, grudging humility. His story is simply told as he lived his life simply, whether faced with famine, disease, flood, war, bandits or hardest of all, indifference. His converts numbered few in the annals of the Church; but everyone came willingly. Cronin has created immortal characters before, but this time he has surpassed himself. And there is no lag in the telling; past and present are knit firmly into one unified picture. And the lesson is a lesson for troubled times, when religion is sorely needed and faith a vital force.