4 out of 4 stars
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The first time I watched the movie Spotlight, it disturbed me for weeks. Growing up in a community of atheists, religion has always been a matter of strangeness and fascination to me. Yet, that movie left a bruise on my mind as I wondered how some people dared to don the cloaks of honor while doing something so disgusting to someone so innocent. If you have never watched or heard of this particular movie, I’m talking about the prevalent sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church. Resonating with this theme, The Shepherd’s Calculus presented a lot of unsettling information while portraying tragedies and the importance of repenting and asking for forgiveness.
Peter Merrick was a freelance journalist returning home from India to receive the news that Father James Ingram, his long-term friend and instructor, had just passed away. Subsequently, he was commissioned to write an article about Father Ingram’s achievements and contribution to society. In the process, Merrick found out his friend had been investigating a series of accusations against the Church and its priests. Happening alongside was the re-election campaign, where the current president was advertising himself as a faithful Catholic and the uncompromising protector of conservative values. To sharpen his advantages, he had to strengthen his ties with the Church and participate in some insidious conspiracies to secure thousands of votes from fellow Catholics. With the Catholic Church at the center stage, The Shepherd’s Calculus would unfold many controversial events and haunting questions prompting you to never look at religion and politics in the same way again.
The novel centered around the complicated relationship between politics and religion. This was a sensitive topic since the two had been battling to dictate our moral values and actions for a long time. The author raised the stakes when depicting the clashes between many powerhouses: the Church, the politicians, the press, and the ordinary citizens. Despite this, the book never outright criticized the Church or Christianity. Besides, it would delight those who had a penchant for strategies as it disclosed many intricate details about campaigning, office politics, and journalism tactics.
In the midst of many grand schemes, The Shepherd’s Calculus quietly presented moments of sorrow to remind you that grandiose intellect had no place to boast in front of pure human suffering. The author C. S. Farrelly described traumatic events in a minimalist way that was, eventually, too painful to see. No amount of justice could redeem the years these victims spent suffering in numbness and blaming themselves for others’ faults and negligence. Occasionally, I had to put the book down to swallow the bubbling pain and rage growing inside me.
The cast was comprised of people with diverse backgrounds and conflicting approaches to religion. As a result, they looked at the same problem in different lights. They resembled an ensemble in a play: the naive, the realistic, the idealistic, the evil, the liars, and the amoral. Through their introspection, the author gave us many words of solemn wisdom on how to perceive, treat, and forgive people. The advice would not, unfortunately, give you any reassurance since the characters had no illusions about a perfect world or perfect human beings. Instead, it might grant you the courage to persevere and keep your moral values intact in the face of doubt and struggles.
The book was well edited. On the downside, the ending was quite sudden and unsatisfying. Initially, I liked the realistic outlook of the book. However, the ending here reflected the dim acknowledgment that although you could punish the evil, you could never take back the innocence, and the enablers still enjoyed the rosy future ahead of them.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The Shepherd’s Calculus will delight mature fans of thriller and drama genres. Nonetheless, there were some discussions about, for lack of a better word, the mechanics of luring pedophilia victims. It also had a sexual harassment scene. A substantial chunk of the novel focused on legislative changes and political maneuvers, which might be boring or confusing to some readers. Overall, this is still a great political suspense thriller which will resonate with many urgent civil issues nowadays.
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The Shepherd's Calculus:
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