Book Review for Fallen Men by Brian O’ Hare
Fallen Men, by Brian O’ Hare, is a story about finding hope, despite failing time and time again.
The book is separated into three parts. The first part, Ministry, introduces Father Ray, a priest who is struggling with the death of his beloved mother, along with his loneliness. In the second part, Retribution, Ray finds himself at a moral crossroad, when a girl he is infatuated with becomes pregnant with his child. Things further complicate when other colleagues find out about the pregnancy. The final part, Redemption, Ray faces the crime he committed, and that, though the world is against him, he still faces his conviction proudly. In this dark, yet touching story, Hare constructs a reality that reminds the reader that people can find redemption, even if they’ve fallen.
To be honest, it’s hard for me to blame any of the characters. From Tony trying to protect his friend by covering up a potentially damaging scandal, to Dan endeavoring to follow his teachings, regardless of how anyone feels, to even Maria and Ray giving into one night of passion; these characters do, in fact, fall victim to sins of their own heart. Ambition, arrogance, loneliness; these factors only serve to add to the complex dimensions that make up their own individual faith. Needless to say, the one thing that stood out to me was the relationship between Maria and Ray. It’s clear they’re both attracted to each other from the moment they saw each other. They were both at fault for the scandal, no matter how anyone looks at it; Maria for voluntarily giving herself to Ray, and Ray for going along with Father McGennity’s suggestions of having Maria get an abortion. The way they handled the situation was also horrific, so much so that they both ended up suffocating beneath their guilt. They did try to make things right in the end, if not for themselves, but for other people. Each character was beautifully written. Hare shows that there are shades of grey in the world, all the while destroying the illusion of the absolute black and white we tend to believe in.
But despite this, the story in and of itself hauntingly reflects the realities of the Catholic Church. As you may or may not know, Cardinal George Pell had recently been charged with multiple sexual assault cases. Witnesses have come forward, many of whom were children when they alleged the Cardinal took advantage of them. He, and other priests, were by no means holy men. They contrasted sharply to Ray, who was willing to face the truth, to burn himself, if only for the chance of redemption. Tony had almost fell into the pattern of covering up the case, but even so, he still stopped himself, and trusted Ray. If there were more priests like Ray, the Church might’ve gotten a bit better when it came to sexual abuse. Unfortunately, however, that’s not the case.
This brings me to the theme of compassion. Maria loved and hated Ray for putting through so much trauma. Still, she did support him during his trial. Dan had seen that, because of his harshness and relative cruelness, he kept pushing people away, kept shoving them in the wrong direction. But even so, he did come back to Ray in the end, if only to see if he was alright. Tony did try to protect Ray, but in the end saw that the kindest thing he could do was have faith in him, and allow him to do what’s right. Hare shows how difficult it was, for these people to care for others, rather than themselves. It was a well written part of the book that I found quite enjoyable.
There were a few mistakes here and there, and the transitions from a character’s thoughts to the actual paragraph itself could have also been clearer. Nevertheless, it was a good book. The characters, the ever fading boundary between right and wrong, and even the parallels between this world and the real one, were extraordinary. Thus, I would give this book a rating of a 4.6 out of 5 stars, and would recommend it to those who love The Angel of a Madman by Ricky Dragoni and PeopleFish by Medella Kingston.
