Mary Cavanagh - Novelist

A Man Like Any Other - Review

I would like to thank Elaine Simpson-Long, the renowned BookBlogger from Random Jottings (randomjottings.typepad.com) for her very generous review of A Man. Thank you, Elaine.

A Man Like Any Other - Mary Cavanagh
First thing I have to say about Mary Cavanagh's book is that it is not for the faint hearted. It packs quite a punch and while I could not put it down once I started, I made myself do so as I felt I needed time out half way through to recover from its impact.
Mary's first book The Crowded Bed which I reviewed last year here was also pretty powerful and, again, not a book to be taken lightly, but as with this one, quite a read.
The full title of this new book is A Man like any Other: the Priest's Tale and is the story of the childhood and priestly life of Father Ewan McEwan, the chaplain of Waldringhythe, a Cistercian abbey on the Suffolk coast where people, grief stricken at the loss of a loved one, come for healing. Marina, Lady Proudfoot, who lost her small daughter and husband in a sailing accident many years ago, has been a regular visitor and over the years she and Ewan have conducted a passionate and loving affair which has been kept a closely guarded secret. Now Marina is near death and she has left papers behind for Ewan to read in which she tells of her life and her own secrets.
Ewan is a charismatic priest, an iconic figure after being photographed in his youth as The Crucifix Man, someone who is loved by both men and women and exerts a powerful sexual aura. We learn about his life, his childhood and his adoption and his feelings on becoming famous as the subject of this controversial photograph. Most of all, we learn of his feelings and his knowledge that he is a priest who has betrayed his vows. Throw in another secret love affair, this time homosexual, between Marina's son Timothy and an old family friend Roger, who has betrayed his wife for most of their marriage, and you have a potent brew.
As I said, hard hitting and powerful stuff and I cannot write any more without giving away the final twist, the ending that left me wondering. We not only learn yet another dark revelation, this time about Timothy, but are also left wondering just how much Marina knew about her lover and if, as is hinted, she knew his full story, then the reader is totally winded. I know I was.
I will repeat my opening sentence, this book is not for the faint hearted, but it packs a punch and grabbed my attention and never let it go until I had finished reading. Written with great conviction and style with a narrative not only flicking backwards and forwards between the main protagonists, but also in time so you need to concentrate, this is a worthy successor to The Crowded Bed.