One of our Great Reads You May Have Missed in 2012.
The perfectly good man of the title is a Cornish vicar who is asked, by a wheelchair-bound young man, to witness his suicide. We then follow the vicar's life, non-chronologically, from 8 years old (the last chapter) to shortly after the suicide. Each chapter provides a snapshot in a character's life when something significant occurs which weaves together the significance of the suicide on all. We even got some characters from Notes From an Exhibition. It explores the lives of ordinary people in such a way that their lives seem beyond the mundane, a truly lovely novel.
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Recommendations: |
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From the author of A PLACE CALLED WINTER and NOTES FROM AN EXHIBITION comes a heartfelt, humane novel about what happens when 'doing good' is no longer enough...
'A convincing, moving account of man's struggle with faith, marriage and morality' Sunday Times
On a clear, crisp summer's day in Cornwall, a young man carefully prepares to take his own life, and asks family friend, Barnaby Johnson, to pray with him.
Barnaby is a priest, a husband and father, and has always tried to do good, though life hasn't always been either straightforward or rosy. Lenny's request poses problems, not just for Barnaby, but for his wife and family, and the wider community, as the secrets of the past push themselves forcefully into the present for all to see.
'Beautifully written' Times
' A writer with heart and soul' Observer
What readers love about A PERFECTLY GOOD MAN:
'A most engaging novel, keenly observed, often witty, and beautifully written' ? ? ? ? ?
'A wonderful poetic, perceptive and very realistic insight into a very varied group of characters' ? ? ? ? ?
'I loved this book - one of the best novels I have read for a long time. Brilliant characterisation, an interesting setting in a small Cornish community, and a very good plot' ? ? ? ? ?
'Patrick Gale knows, not just the accurate externals of parish life, but the inner realities of human thinking' ? ? ? ? ?
A Perfectly Good Man features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, Books of the Month, General Fiction, Fiction, Recommendations
A Perfectly Good Man is available in Paperback
A Perfectly Good Man was written by Patrick Gale and published by Tinder Press an imprint of Headline Publishing Group
A Perfectly Good Man has 416 pages
£11.69
