BE NEAR ME

David Anderton, a Roman Catholic priest in working-class Dalgarnock, Scotland, is a posh outsider who prefers keeping emotionally distant from his parishioners. His only friends are his housekeeper, Mrs. Poole, and a couple of thrill-seeking teenagers, Mark and Lisa, “victims of forgotten hope.” Anderton grows too close to Mark, mistaking camaraderie for something more. Jerome Pride works magic in this performance. He simply vanishes. In his place, fully formed, are pub-lounging locals “blighted by unemployment,” parish clergymen desperate to avoid yet another church abuse scandal, and Father Anderton himself, seeking, longing, trying to understand his actions. Deep, age-old fears and resentments boil to the surface, the town becomes a mob, and Pride sweeps listeners up in Anderton’s trial and its aftermath. An incredible book. An amazing performance. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 07/ JAN 08]