Eh List author visits

 

 

                           It is just after Labour Day, the weather is getting cooler  and the library is kicking into gear. All eyes are on the hotly contested list for Toronto Public Library's famed EH List - "who will be visiting libraries across the city this Fall?"   is the buzz. Barbara Frum Branch's staff and patrons are no strangers to great author visits, but even they are excited at the prospect of meeting a mystery writer who puts Toronto in the limelight.

Bestselling author Robert Rotenberg is back and so is Detective Ari Greene. Come out and hear Rotenberg on Wednesday September 25th at 7:00pm. Toronto will never look the same to you again.....

(With apologies to Robert Rotenberg himself
and his own description of Stranglehold).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bishop's man - holy man? sinner? or just human?

 

Linden MacIntyre, perhaps best known as a television journalist, co-host of The Fifth Estate,  tackles the timely but uncomfortable topic of sexual abuse of children by members of the Catholic priesthood in his latest novel.  The story is told through the experiences of Father Duncan MacAskill, with a serious examination of the theme, and the page-turning energy of a thriller.

 The book is set in the 1990s, but Father MacAskill’s reflections cover his earlier years.  In the 1970s, he had been banished to do missionary work in Honduras to remove him from Canada – because he had witnessed something he shouldn’t have seen and decided to report it, against advice from the bishop.

 Later, he becomes the bishop’s man – a troubleshooter skilled in cleaning up any mess made by other priests, burying the potential scandals that might prove to be embarrassing to the church.  But shortly after his arrival at his new parish in Cape Breton, a young man commits suicide, and Father MacAskill feels indirectly responsible.

 His efforts to find the truth put him in opposition to the bishop.  MacAskill does confront the truth of his role in the church, as well as other problems from his past, both in Canada and in Honduras.

Some people have commented that there is not enough spirituality/religion in this book, but others have pointed out that the story is more about people who have put too much faith in an institution, is an examination of the human psyche, how our past shapes our choices and identity, and less about the setting itself.

Linden MacIntyre is an investigative reporter who has aimed his skills at this sensitive and disturbing topic.  This is not a book about redemption; it is a story of contrition.

 Please join us at Barbara Frum on Tuesday, September 17, 7 to 8 pm for our book club discussion of this controversial book, which won the Giller Prize for 2009.  Call 416-395-5440 to register.