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Seeking the
Divine Spark:
A Satire in the Style of Evelyn Waugh
Reader reviews and comments Dr
John Wilson (no relation)
Associate Professor English, English Department, Lock Haven University,
Pennsylvania, USA Also
Editor of the Evelyn Waugh Newsletter:
http://evelynwaughsociety.org/ Adam Mitchell Bond, Bradford, Pennsylvania USA ...while [the story]
depicts a people comfortable in their sin, there is something beneath the
surface which communicates to the reader how very disordered the whole
sequence of events is. It is in the absurd hypocrisy and the seeming
inability of the various characters to connect the dots, as it were, between
their own failings and the supposed failings of the Church that resounds
with a message wholly at variance with the gross abominations perpetrated
within. And this is—I should think—the goal of satire, to render absurd
that which takes itself so very seriously...the author certainly
achieves this...
...I liked [your novel]. I got caught up in the characters and
situations and wondered how things would turn out. I think you manage
the scenes very well and often bring them to a subtle yet provocative
conclusion. You also make the scenes work together very well. And you
write well, so I think you should certainly be able to make a career as a
writer...Your Norm Mudlord (the names are good) reminded me of our Rush
Limbaugh, and I liked how you had the characters criticize others while
engaging in the very behaviour they were criticizing. That's another example
of subtlety, and something you can build on...
Gai Smith, Blaxland NSW
The disordered thinking of society with regard to sexual morality is well portrayed and the utter hypocrisy of the media cannot be missed. When confronted with honesty, sincerity and goodness in the form of people such as Father Champion they seek not only to assassinate their characters but punish them severely and eliminate them entirely from society - as if their message will go away.
My only criticism is that a paragraph or two should have been added where Mudlord is loudly and irrationally blaming [wife] Cheryl to her face for their children's promiscuity and drug dealing. It would have added to the hypocrisy especially because he sweeps the issue under the carpet as he selfishly and completely turns his mind back to his own fulfilment. The Cheryls of this world usually start out being reasonably decent, mildly naive girls who are madly in love with an utter louse and when they fully realise it are at a loss as to how to salvage their marriages, bring up their children and get on with their lives. Often they cannot or will not do anything because they are dependent on their husbands and still love them as well as being used to the luxurious home, lifestyle and money. Usually they go with the flow with a heavy heart, doing their best to help their children who eventually become extremely screwed up. Hazel Hawke comes to mind here.
In ten years time the Mudlords of the world are washed out grey-haired old men who without make-up look twenty years older than their ages and the same for the Samanthas. Both of these characters would have eventually returned to their old habits, e.g. Samantha cheating with Torne or someone else and Mudlord back enjoying the delights of his Gentlemen's Club.
I hope the book is a success, though I wonder whether anyone in the media will identify themselves because, like Mudlord, they are quite comfortable with their sins and see nothing wrong with their lives until they experience a massive personal crisis and even then some of them do not wake up. I see this time and time again...
Could you please send me another two books of Seeking the Divine Spark for friends of mine who I think would appreciate it.
-x-
Roger Wilson, Maritime Engineer, Greensborough, Victoria
I thought it was a really good read. I
particularly liked the fast paced way you wrapped everything up at the end.
The whole book actually is very tight and fast moving.
The Abortion Nurse's Daughter: The Goddess oversees the sacrifice of the unborn I have included this link to show that some of the more shocking material in the story (e.g. The Dionysian Mysteries) is based on actual happenings.
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Comment: gerard@gerardcharleswilson.com