Do You like book Such Is My Beloved (2015)?
Morley Callaghan hit it on the head with this novel, and not a thing has changed since the time of the novel. I have worked for a few organizations whose function it was to help those in society that are cast off and ignored and as such, I no longer believe in the "good nature" of mankind. So many are caught in a poverty trap with criminal enterprise being the only part of society that extends a hand, and we wonder why some areas have more crime than others. The most painful thing of all and the final straw was having the vaunted and holy United Way pull funding because it was not a "popular" cause to help the poor and youth at risk.Beyond my own life lessons however (and yes I'm bitter!) Morley Callahan is a hell of a writer and I remember being drawn to this book when I was still a naive Lit student in University. His language is beautiful and his stories interesting, and he was man of courage.An awesome read.
—uh8myzen
There was something very moving about this text that asks us to draw comparisons between a devout priest and the two prostitutes he comes to love and care for. There is a great moral ambiguity and a general sense of life’s great mysteries that felt distinctly Canadian and thoroughly modern in spite of being an older work. It begs some very intensive moral questions while at the same time not beating the reader over the head with it. I loved the background questions of what Canada is when faced with an ever changing identity; it was nice to see that question linger so far back.It’s interesting when the trio gets separated, not sure what exactly that says but I enjoy the ambiguity of it. The Catholic guilt that seemed to be a theme throughout was particularly comforting to me. Definitely a compelling read.
—Rob
This is the second novel I’ve read by Morley Callaghan and I enjoyed it much more than A Passion in Rome. Father Stephen Dowling is a young and somewhat naïve priest who encounters two young prostitutes one evening. His original impulse is to pass them by, but then, ashamed and feeling some responsibility for these residents of his parish, he turns back, determined to help them. Unable to find them respectable jobs because of the Depression, he gives Ronnie and Midge money and buys them food and
—Mrsgaskell
