Reviewed by Taylin
TITLE: A Particular Friendship
AUTHOR: Paul Van Der Spiegel
PUBLISHER: Perceptions Press
LENGTH: 225 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 28, 2021
BLURB:
Tom Morton is a gay Catholic parish priest in a northern English town. Tom’s closeted life is turned upside down when the man he fell in love with comes back into his life. Caught between duty and desire, Tom finds himself confronting the powerful Bishop, Derek Worrell—a dark figure from Tom’s past, and the man who has pledged to rid the Church of its troublesome gay clergy.
REVIEW:
Growing up, Tom experienced tragedy and sexual confusion. The only place he found peace and salvation was within his Catholic faith. To the dissent of his friends, Tom became a priest. Later in years, a man he loved returns to his life, sparking a war between his faith in God and the Church that claims to act in his name. This novel is Tom Morton’s life story – well, the first fifty years.
A Particular Friendship is a story that I felt split in two about – the critical reviewer and the heart/message within, written in a memorandum of two real-life inspirational individuals. Bob Summerbell, from Vancouver, accomplished much within a cut-short life, and, Father Alan Griffin. He was partly the inspiration for writing this story, which I get the impression was somewhat of a bloodletting experience for the author.
The story is told in the third person entirely from Tom’s viewpoint as a fifty-year-old priest, using flashbacks to his younger days – beginning as a child and the two timelines eventually converge. The setting is a northern British town where twenty-first-century teaching had yet to sink into an influential element of the Catholic populace.
There is lots of imagery of living from various walks of life. There are also many talking points, which I recognized from my youth in the seventies/eighties. While these made me smile, creating a connection between me and the story, there are also named roads, places, and factories. Anyone who has traveled to the UK will recognize some components, but there are others that only locals to the area will appreciate – limiting the wider audience. Acronyms are also used, which may decrease the word count, but personally, they belong in my room 101 as they continually confuse me.
With Tom being a priest, religion plays a massive part in the story. Tom’s sermons and outlook on life made for very different reading, especially the various interpretations of certain Bible passages. The language style made some areas harder to read than others, so this is not a book to read while there are outside distractions.
Tom is a super character. For years, he’s hidden behind his religion, passively believing one voice could do nothing to change the bullying practices of those more powerful than himself. These tendencies make for good reading because while I occasionally wanted to slap, his actions were realistic to life. But, like any caged animal in a corner, eventually enough is enough.
I loved the content of this story, but it was in the construction that I had an issue. While reading, I felt the flashbacks come out of nowhere, making me stumble. It was akin to someone hitting pause on the TV remote while giving you a side story. A font change did not highlight these instances, nor was there any lead into them regarding place or timeline. A paragraph finished, and next was a memory that, although it had a bearing on what was to follow, frequently interrupted the flow of the story as they usually appeared mid-dramatic scene that had to be picked up again later. These memories also contained lots of named characters, that longer-term, had me confused with who was who. However, these people also showcased varying perspectives that aided and hampered Tom’s journey.
There were a couple of dramatic scenes describing the aftermath of an incident but not the event itself, giving me a few WTF moments. Maybe the author wasn’t comfortable writing them, or he preferred to concentrate on a different message. Still, from a reader’s perspective, it would have added a change in heart rate and a diversion from discussion topics.
It took a lot of balls to write this story, so kudos to the author. I found it one that left me with plenty to think about regarding the difference between belief, the mediums that showcase religion, and the struggles that accompany that and lots between. It was a bold and daring read that looked at the view of the church from various attitudes. The slow burn nature of the story allows for numerous walks of life, and personalities to be added, including the poor, the wealthy, the powerful and oppressed, the cynics and understanding, loved and unloved, wise, and more.
The story could quite easily be five stars if you know the area. But for people further afield, at the least, it will be educational. The talking points within the book and what it represents is recommended reading. However, I feel more thought could have gone into the flow because at the end of the day, regardless of inspiration, and cathartic release, etc.; this is billed as a work of fiction, and an audience needs to be both entertained and informed.
RATING: 
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