Good Offices
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A beautifully poetic and vivid satire of the hypocrisies of the Catholic Church.
Tancredo, a young hunchback, observes and participates in the rites at the Catholic church where he lives under the care of Father Almida. Also in residence are the sexton Celeste Machado, his goddaughter Sabina Cruz, and three widows known collectively as the Lilias, who do the cooking and cleaning and provide charity meals for the local poor and needy. One Thursday, Father Almida and the sexton must rush off to meet the parish’s principal benefactor, Don Justiniano. It will be the first time in forty years Father Almida has not said mass. Eventually they find a replacement: Father Matamoros, a drunkard with a beautiful voice whose sung mass is spellbinding to all. The Lilias prepare a sumptuous meal for Father Matamoros, who persuades them to drink with him. Over the course of the long night the women and Tancredo lose their inhibitions and confess their sins and stories to this strange priest, and in the process re- veal lives crippled by hypocrisy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his second novel translated into English, award-winning Rosero (The Armies) documents a night in the life of hunchback and charity worker Tancredo, a man whose church conceals underhanded activities. Despite the simple premise a parish priest and sacristan's departure results in the evening service being performed by the eccentric, vocally talented Father Matamoros this slim work becomes a lively enactment of the idiom "When the cat's away, the mice will play," as well as a sobering look at resentment. When the employees who remain behind (including Sabina, the three Lilias, and Tancredo) reveal their displeasure as overworked individuals, among other confessions, they expose the underside of institutionalized care. Fans of Hispanophone literature will appreciate Bogot serving as the backdrop for simmering passions as well as Catholic corruption. The opening section detailing Tancredo's weekly duties is especially noteworthy; McLean and Milsom perfectly portray the chaotic, yet mundane atmosphere. Character-driven, focused, and determined in its study of appearance versus reality, this social commentary is rendered with colorful aplomb.
