Review of Always Before Me
13 posts
[Following is a volunteer review of "Always Before Me" by John Servant.]
Will you hold on to your beliefs and sentiments when everything you value starts to fade away and everyone turns against you? Will you remain the same when the light of hope appears? How far will you go to defend your beliefs? These are the kind of questions that John Servant attempts to answer in his book Always Before Me. The story revolves around the lives of the two honest Catholic priests in prison.
The story starts in a quiet and peaceful room of the prison. Father Richard was alone in the room, who had come to pay his final respects to Father Anthony, who had just passed away due to aggressive lung cancer. Father Richard was lost in his thoughts when a young man arrived to pay his final respects to the person lying in the casket. He was John Daly, the nephew of Father Anthony.
For years, John had not seen his uncle. After learning of Father Anthony's death and discovering that his uncle had left him all of his belongings, he visits the prison. Father Richard and John had some conversations which revealed that John does not know much about his uncle, except he was here in prison as a teacher because he was alleged to have molested a young girl long ago. Although no charge was levelled against him, he could not get any job outside due to this allegation.
Father Richard made John meet Matt, a very close friend of Father Anthony, to seek the truth and to know more about the noble character of his uncle. This meeting later introduces readers to another important character, Father Paul. He always stood by his belief and faith in Jesus and Mary even when he was accused and imprisoned for ten years for not cooperating with the court and police investigation.
The majority of this book explains how Father Paul came to be imprisoned for an unjust reason, how he maintained his faith, his fight and desire to share the holy truth, and his efforts to rehabilitate the minds of inmates. Later, Father Paul runs across Father Anthony. Father Paul showed a stressed Father Anthony the route to calm and faith, as well as the importance of never giving up. They made a few friends along the road, but also a few enemies, leading to some tragic events.
What I liked about the book was the way the author presented the characters and their dialogues. Typically, a religiously oriented book is overly obsessed with glorifying themselves or condemnation of other groups of society and religions. However, John Servant excellently describes the ideals and teachings of Christianity plainly. This book is suitable for everyone regardless of any religion and social group. Catholic readers will favour this book as it is full of verses and teachings of the Bible. Always Before Me is deeply entrenched in Catholicism. Father Paul quoted several lines and words from the NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition) wonderfully.
In conclusion, Always Before Me deserves a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. There is nothing I disliked about the book. The book is excellently written and is well-balanced. I could not find any significant grammatical mistakes or issues. The book will appeal to those who want to learn more about the topic of religious storytelling.
******
Always Before Me
View: on Bookshelves |
Will you hold on to your beliefs and sentiments when everything you value starts to fade away and everyone turns against you? Will you remain the same when the light of hope appears? How far will you go to defend your beliefs? These are the kind of questions that John Servant attempts to answer in his book Always Before Me. The story revolves around the lives of the two honest Catholic priests in prison.
The story starts in a quiet and peaceful room of the prison. Father Richard was alone in the room, who had come to pay his final respects to Father Anthony, who had just passed away due to aggressive lung cancer. Father Richard was lost in his thoughts when a young man arrived to pay his final respects to the person lying in the casket. He was John Daly, the nephew of Father Anthony.
For years, John had not seen his uncle. After learning of Father Anthony's death and discovering that his uncle had left him all of his belongings, he visits the prison. Father Richard and John had some conversations which revealed that John does not know much about his uncle, except he was here in prison as a teacher because he was alleged to have molested a young girl long ago. Although no charge was levelled against him, he could not get any job outside due to this allegation.
Father Richard made John meet Matt, a very close friend of Father Anthony, to seek the truth and to know more about the noble character of his uncle. This meeting later introduces readers to another important character, Father Paul. He always stood by his belief and faith in Jesus and Mary even when he was accused and imprisoned for ten years for not cooperating with the court and police investigation.
The majority of this book explains how Father Paul came to be imprisoned for an unjust reason, how he maintained his faith, his fight and desire to share the holy truth, and his efforts to rehabilitate the minds of inmates. Later, Father Paul runs across Father Anthony. Father Paul showed a stressed Father Anthony the route to calm and faith, as well as the importance of never giving up. They made a few friends along the road, but also a few enemies, leading to some tragic events.
What I liked about the book was the way the author presented the characters and their dialogues. Typically, a religiously oriented book is overly obsessed with glorifying themselves or condemnation of other groups of society and religions. However, John Servant excellently describes the ideals and teachings of Christianity plainly. This book is suitable for everyone regardless of any religion and social group. Catholic readers will favour this book as it is full of verses and teachings of the Bible. Always Before Me is deeply entrenched in Catholicism. Father Paul quoted several lines and words from the NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition) wonderfully.
In conclusion, Always Before Me deserves a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. There is nothing I disliked about the book. The book is excellently written and is well-balanced. I could not find any significant grammatical mistakes or issues. The book will appeal to those who want to learn more about the topic of religious storytelling.
******
Always Before Me
View: on Bookshelves |
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