Many years have passed since I became excited about reading novels. As a former high school English teacher, Hemingway and Steinbeck were literary paragons of perfection to me. The facility with which they wrote, their comfortable style, made me feel as though I were sitting in their living rooms listening to them relate something fascinating about themselves or what they had experienced; each had something to say about what it meant to be a man with values.
As lesser writers arrived on the scene, they seemed to rely on coarse language, often blasphemy, to parade sordid little tales; I decided that non-fiction might better suit my tastes. Additionally, there was always the Divine Office, the Scripture and inspiring spiritual works that left me with a good feeling, rather than a suspicion that I had wasted time that was better spent on parish ministry and that I needed either to go to confession or wash my brain out with soap.
This summer all of that changed as I happened upon three novels that fed my soul, lifted me up and entertained and/or challenged me. One was as scholarly as it was intriguing; another was from an author I’ve long respected and welcomed back like a long-lost friend returning from a lengthy journey; and one was a from a new author who weaves a tale filled with such powerful descriptive accuracy as to place me right in the middle of the story.
It was almost a half century ago that I introduced students to Atticus Finch and his children Scout and Jem, characters in Harper Lee’s iconic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The introduction was a pleasant one; what young southern boy would not relish getting to know a man of wisdom, esteemed character, gentle firmness and unquestioned integrity. And although the young girl who narrated the story was feminine, neither she nor her reader wished to dwell upon that characteristic; Scout afforded a teenage boy a safe vantage point from which to view emerging femininity. Why, Scout was almost one of the boys, and that would definitely have been her preference.
When I learned that Harper Lee had an unpublished novel about to be released, I rushed to place a prepublication order with Amazon. As promised, on the morning of July 14, “Go Set a Watchman” made its mysterious appearance on my Kindle. And there was my old friend again, Scout, this time a grown young woman returning to her Southern roots in Alabama, but filled with intimidating ideas of her new home, New York City.
There has been a great deal in the press concerning character flaws unearthed in Atticus in the new book. Particularly, racism. It’s unsettling to Scout and to the reader of the new novel. For a half century, we’ve all looked up to this godly, almost other-worldly, man introduced to us through the genius of Harper Lee and established firmly in our minds by his portrayal in the movie adaptation by the extraordinary actor Gregory Peck. This was no hero in a spandex costume, darting unrealistically about the skies; this was the man next door who showed us how live a genuine life of courage, honor and integrity regardless of what curves life might throw. And, now, we see his tragic flaw, racial bigotry. Whoa! Catch that idol; it’s falling off its pedestal!
But the genius in Harper Lee’s new book is that it reveals how Atticus got that way and how his integrity is in the process of reconstruction. The nobility of Calpurnia, the black housekeeper, is never in question, nor is the injustice suffered by the black people and how critical it is that society remedy that injustice. What is brought into question is the correct manner to right a moral wrong; to change the prevailing social paradigm into something better, without creating something worse or supplanting it with a different destructive form of bigotry. This is more than a “How ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm once they’ve seen gay Paree?” confrontation with moral ugliness on Scout’s part. It poses a grave moral issue for Christianity and our country and should open some discussions that have yet to be broached. When I started reading the novel, it seemed a bit dated; I now believe it was prophetic. While it is lacking in some of the warmth of “Mockingbird,” it is a marvelous read with two scenes toward the end that I hope I live long enough to see in a movie. If only Gregory Peck were still alive …
Harper Lee and I are close to the same age. We both grew up in the South and now we are both retired and are grazing peacefully in the lower pasture. But there is good news: a new star is rising in the South, the author I mentioned with the powers of description that rival if not surpass those that have graced the pages of good literature throughout the history of our country. She is Vivienne Schiffer, the author of “Camp Nine,” a novel set in Arkansas, narrated by a Scout-like girl, during World War II, dealing with the injustice of forcefully placing Japanese-Americans in prisonlike camps, two of which were in Arkansas. Ms. Schiffer grew up in the Delta area of Arkansas, the home of one of those camps.
While she is not old enough to have been present at that time, she is professional and smart enough to do the research and write a touching, realistic, story with many twists and turns and subplots. And the detail is phenomenal, adding realism to each and every scene. The author has the soul of a poet and the perspicacious eye of a detective. Ms. Schiffer is the Harper Lee of this century, capturing the tone, feel, charm, injustice, love and hatred that are a part of the heritage of the South. By the way, Vivienne Schiffer is the sister of our diocesan priest, Father Clayton Gould, and the daughter of the former mayor of McGehee, Rosalie Gould.
The last of the three novels I would recommend for your reading is “The Fifth Gospel” by Ian Caldwell. Oh, wow! Mr. Caldwell spent 10 years writing this marvelous novel which has to capture the rapt attention of anyone who loves the Church, Christianity, Orthodoxy, a good murder mystery, the Vatican, priests, suspense, the Bible, Church history, the hierarchy and the power of family love. While being highly entertained, I don’t think I’ve ever learned more from a novel. The blending of all the aforementioned areas of interest within an intricate murder case and subsequent trial is amazing and will sustain your interest to the last page.
While I don’t remember any sexually offensive material in the any of the novels I’ve suggested to you, there is some strong, even blasphemous, language in “Go Set a Watchman.” While I think it serves a legitimate purpose in its use, I would counsel some prudence and guidance if read by the young.
Msgr. Gaston Hebert is a retired diocesan priest, now living in Albuquerque, N.M. He was formerly the administrator for the diocese, vicar general and pastor.
