Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 Not Free SF Reader September 3, 2007
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
Another dead Catholic story. Do you want to become a saint? Only one
slight problem with that, you have to be dead first. Then there is a
lengthy process involved to discover if you are worth it or not. In
this novel, this involves digging around in the past of the particular
no longer with us individual. The investigator is dying, himself, of a
terminal illness
It turns out that there are some oversized skeletons in the closet.
 Literary Spirituality August 26, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a story of love and hate, hope and despair, faith and non-belief. As one man attempts to uncover the sanctity of another man, he discovers his own humanity. Rev. Blaise Meredith is sent by the Vatican to begin a process of investigation. Was Giacomo Nerone a saint and martyr or merely a military deserter who had only the appearance of sanctity? As Morris West delves into the story of Nerone and those who loved and hated him, he brings to light the universal questions about who we are, what is our purpose in life, and what is our ultimate destination. This is a beautifully written story which evokes personal reflection and spiritual contemplation. Ultimately, this is a story of love, hope, and faith.
An engaging novel that offers an examination of ourselves. October 12, 2006
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Morris West's--The Devil's Advocate--is a perennial literary classic thriller that is an intermixture of politics and religion, which explores the behind-the-process investigative scenes of Catholic saint making. But that is really only the backdrop to the totality of the story, for the real narrative deals with the world weary and cynical English devil's advocate, Fr. Blaise Meredith, a man who has been informed that due to an illness, his life expectancy has been shortened. With such a blow, he submissively complies to that which he can not prevent from happening: death. He passively waits for it, dismissing his environment and the people contained within it, thus causing a premature emotional death, stunting him before actual physical death seizes him. As such, his 'boss' Eugenio Cardinal Marotta, tries to get him out of his self-made rut, something created long before his illness came into the scene. And it is an observation duly noted by Marotta, when he states on page 37, "...Part of the problem is that you and I and others like us have been removed too long from pastoral duty. We have lost touch with the people who keep us in touch with God. We have reduced the faith to an intellectual conception, an arid assent of the will, because we have not seen it working in the lives of common folk. We have lost pity and fear and love. We are the guardians of mysteries, but we have lost the awe of them. We work by canon, not by charity..."
Over the course of time, Blaise Meredith lost something within himself, the mystery of what brought him into religious life in the first place, that spark of Divine influence which ignited his actions, the excitement, the possibility, the allure; what he clung to was a partial illusion instead of the reality, and so, bit-by-bit, he gradually crumbled until his feelings became ashes and dust rather than his body. Yet, that is the beauty of humanity, for we each raise each other up when necessary, and Fr. Meredith is no exception. But he is raised up not by a living soul, but a departed one, a martyred witness whose cause for canonization he must investigate. But for him, it is yet another albatross around his neck, for he is of the belief that the world could do with more churches and better attendance than another holy rollar saint. However, the man whom he must investigate--Giacomo Nerone--appears anything but saintly, which in its own right is quite refreshing. But his adherence to the doctrine of the Church, even onto death, is what elevates him to the possibilities of the honor of the alter. The story surrounding Nerone and those who knew him slowly and intricately revives the devil's advocate's own faith. And his soul is gradually restored.
West's novel can be dissected on many levels and the characters that are gradually introduced are by all accounts flawed in their own very unique manner, for nothing is held back. But no matter how reprehensible some of the characters and situations may be, there is corrective redemption that is available; some take it and others do not, but for those who do, one can not but sigh with a degree of relief. As noted in the author biogrphy, The Devil's Advocate was awarded the Royal Society's William Heinemann Award, the National Brotherhood Award from the National Council of Christians and Jews as well as the James Tait Black Memorial Award. And for me, upon completion of the book, an understanding of the universal acclaim that it has received since its publication.
The Depths of the Human Soul Examined in this Classic August 7, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Few modern novels have the emotional nor spiritual depth to delve so profoundly into the truth of the human person as this West classic. Rooted very much into the "Catholic" experience, yet going beyond just religious tradition, Morris West reaches into the struggle of being a whole person in a world that so seeks to fragment and manipulate us. From Msgr. Meredith, the priest in crisis, to the assorted characters that inhabit the impoverished Italian village where this story takes it's shape, "The Devil's Advocate" is a profoundly sympathetic and honest examination of what we all are born to seek: integrity, wisdom, compassion and the humilty to be open to the promptings of Divine grace. God loves His people, His beloved. This would be easier to believe if we could come to love ourselves more truly. This is a marvelously told parable for today. For all days!
 very good March 25, 2006
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Tells a story of true life and real people, of trials and courage,faith and how God fits in.
|
