What do you think?
Good Confession
When sweet-talking Mick Brogan dies, his young wife Cathleen struggles to bring up their daughters in their rented rooms in 1960s North London. She is comforted by Father Jerry, her husband’s cousin and a priest generally acknowledged by the Irish community to be both a saint and the spit of Gregory Peck.
As their friendship develops, Cathleen fears that they are growing too close. Hoping that confession will ease her troubled mind, she says the things that can’t be said anywhere else—not realizing that she is confessing to the man she loves.
When a tragedy forces Cathleen back to Ireland, she must face the truth and accept the consequences of such a forbidden love…
As their friendship develops, Cathleen fears that they are growing too close. Hoping that confession will ease her troubled mind, she says the things that can’t be said anywhere else—not realizing that she is confessing to the man she loves.
When a tragedy forces Cathleen back to Ireland, she must face the truth and accept the consequences of such a forbidden love…
234 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2009
About the author
Bridget Whelan
8 books23 followersBridget is a novelist, prize winning short story writer and creative writing lecturer who has taught on undergraduate courses and in adult education. She has also been Writer in Residence at a community centre for the unemployed and low waged.
Praise for BACK TO CREATIVE WRITING SCHOOL
“An indispensable tool for anyone wanting to write fiction...”
Sarah Rayner, bestselling author of One Moment, One Morning new book
"It really feels as though you have the best kind of supportive teacher by your side" Kate Harrison, author of The Secret Shopper, Boot Camp and The 5:2 Diet Book
"It's more than a writer's handbook - it's a book which anyone could read and if they did they would probably find their pleasure in words and the world heightened.”
Lizzie Enfield, author of What You Don’t Know and Uncoupled new book
"This fantastic, down to earth, imaginative and brilliantly organised programme of exercises and explanations will give enormous inspiration to anyone who has ever wondered about whether they could write."
Julia Crouch, author of Cuckoo
A GOOD CONFESSION is set in 1960s London and Ireland and tells the story love growing between a priest and a young mother.
Praise for A GOOD CONFESSION
Bridget Whelan writes in the great Irish tradition of storytelling. A Good Confession is an unputdownable, compelling love story about the conflict between passion and duty. Daily Mirror columnist Miriam Stoppard
…A moving, humorous and subtle book whose central theme has struck a chord with many readers. The Irish World
...Whelan has created a richly textured plot with pathos, humor and charm, flawed but likable characters, and an ending that, though not exactly happy, is at least satisfying. An excellent read…. Booklist USA
Praise for BACK TO CREATIVE WRITING SCHOOL
“An indispensable tool for anyone wanting to write fiction...”
Sarah Rayner, bestselling author of One Moment, One Morning new book
"It really feels as though you have the best kind of supportive teacher by your side" Kate Harrison, author of The Secret Shopper, Boot Camp and The 5:2 Diet Book
"It's more than a writer's handbook - it's a book which anyone could read and if they did they would probably find their pleasure in words and the world heightened.”
Lizzie Enfield, author of What You Don’t Know and Uncoupled new book
"This fantastic, down to earth, imaginative and brilliantly organised programme of exercises and explanations will give enormous inspiration to anyone who has ever wondered about whether they could write."
Julia Crouch, author of Cuckoo
A GOOD CONFESSION is set in 1960s London and Ireland and tells the story love growing between a priest and a young mother.
Praise for A GOOD CONFESSION
Bridget Whelan writes in the great Irish tradition of storytelling. A Good Confession is an unputdownable, compelling love story about the conflict between passion and duty. Daily Mirror columnist Miriam Stoppard
…A moving, humorous and subtle book whose central theme has struck a chord with many readers. The Irish World
...Whelan has created a richly textured plot with pathos, humor and charm, flawed but likable characters, and an ending that, though not exactly happy, is at least satisfying. An excellent read…. Booklist USA
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 20, 2015
Novel set in Ireland (a perfect snapshot of rural life)
This delightful, read-at-one-go novel provides a perfect snapshot of life in rural Ireland in the early 60’s and also a poignant view of the difficulties faced by Irish migrants coming to London in search of work. A Good Confession is superficially a simple story, well told and easy to read and yet it is also disturbing. For those of us who have lived through the early 60’s, it serves as an unsettling reminder of all that was awful about that period.
The novel opens with a tragedy: young Cathleen Brogan’s husband, Mick, dies, leaving her to bring up two young girls in miserable rented rooms in 1960’s London. Mick has been working as a labourer and his death leaves her with virtually no income. Life looks pretty desperate but then Father Jerry, Mick’s cousin, turns up to comfort her. The Irish community regard Father Jerry as something of a saint and it isn’t long before Cathleen finds herself growing a bit too fond of him. Seeking comfort from confession, she doesn’t realise that she is actually baring her soul to the man she loves.
If this was all there was to this novel, it would be simple indeed but under this haunting story there is a subtext. Whelan manages a very subtle but nonetheless effective criticism of the priesthood. She conveys the way in which priests in that period were revered to the point of idolatry by Catholic communities. Sometimes it makes you laugh, as when Kitty, Cathleen’s mother, gloats over the superiority of Father Jerry to her friend’s family priest, “Father Pius Pity-face in Patagonia”. But Whelan also reminds us that this same reverence masked the corruption and cruelty which was an integral part of the Catholic Church at that time and the ending of the novel highlights the arrogance that it was all too easy for priests to fall into.
Whelan is a very skilful writer; her characterisation is masterful and she has captured the cadences of Irish speech perfectly. Cathleen’s mother, Kitty, is a delight, not least because of her colourful turn of phrase. But the real power is in her depiction of the less admirable characters. The hypocritical headmistress of the girls’ school will live with me for some time and the hideous Thady is a superb creation. The author, I note, is a prize winning short story writer and that doesn’t surprise me in the least. This novel has the tight structure of a short story with not a single paragraph wasted and it is this that makes it such a page turner.
A Good Confession doesn’t give the reader a sense of place so much as a sense of time. The rural Ireland of the early 60’s is recreated powerfully; Whelan doesn’t spare the reader any of the elements – poverty, prejudice, ignorance and cruelty and all overlaid with a veneer of religion. It might well prompt the reader, however, to visit Farran, County Cork to see, hopefully, how much better it is now.
This delightful, read-at-one-go novel provides a perfect snapshot of life in rural Ireland in the early 60’s and also a poignant view of the difficulties faced by Irish migrants coming to London in search of work. A Good Confession is superficially a simple story, well told and easy to read and yet it is also disturbing. For those of us who have lived through the early 60’s, it serves as an unsettling reminder of all that was awful about that period.
The novel opens with a tragedy: young Cathleen Brogan’s husband, Mick, dies, leaving her to bring up two young girls in miserable rented rooms in 1960’s London. Mick has been working as a labourer and his death leaves her with virtually no income. Life looks pretty desperate but then Father Jerry, Mick’s cousin, turns up to comfort her. The Irish community regard Father Jerry as something of a saint and it isn’t long before Cathleen finds herself growing a bit too fond of him. Seeking comfort from confession, she doesn’t realise that she is actually baring her soul to the man she loves.
If this was all there was to this novel, it would be simple indeed but under this haunting story there is a subtext. Whelan manages a very subtle but nonetheless effective criticism of the priesthood. She conveys the way in which priests in that period were revered to the point of idolatry by Catholic communities. Sometimes it makes you laugh, as when Kitty, Cathleen’s mother, gloats over the superiority of Father Jerry to her friend’s family priest, “Father Pius Pity-face in Patagonia”. But Whelan also reminds us that this same reverence masked the corruption and cruelty which was an integral part of the Catholic Church at that time and the ending of the novel highlights the arrogance that it was all too easy for priests to fall into.
Whelan is a very skilful writer; her characterisation is masterful and she has captured the cadences of Irish speech perfectly. Cathleen’s mother, Kitty, is a delight, not least because of her colourful turn of phrase. But the real power is in her depiction of the less admirable characters. The hypocritical headmistress of the girls’ school will live with me for some time and the hideous Thady is a superb creation. The author, I note, is a prize winning short story writer and that doesn’t surprise me in the least. This novel has the tight structure of a short story with not a single paragraph wasted and it is this that makes it such a page turner.
A Good Confession doesn’t give the reader a sense of place so much as a sense of time. The rural Ireland of the early 60’s is recreated powerfully; Whelan doesn’t spare the reader any of the elements – poverty, prejudice, ignorance and cruelty and all overlaid with a veneer of religion. It might well prompt the reader, however, to visit Farran, County Cork to see, hopefully, how much better it is now.
April 1, 2009
I read it in one sitting and was gripped from start to finish! Brilliant book!
April 11, 2010
(This was originally posted on Book Lovers,Inc)
My Thoughts:
I had no idea how I was going to review and rate this book. A good Confession was some kind of challenge for me because it’s out of my ‘comfort-zone’, but sometimes it’s a good thing to try new things. Let’s just say I had a shaky start because I began crying from chapter 1 (and I hate crying), but that was bound to happen when you start a book with a death.
I’m torn, it would have been easier if I had not liked this book . I really enjoyed reading A Good Confession but it went against all the things I love (e.g. the ending). From the book synopsis I jumped to the conclusion that this book was mostly about forbidden love…well it is, but it’s not the main part of the book. For me it’s about what happens after mourning for your husband…How to go on with your life, It’s about Cathleen’s journey to new beginnings. Cathleen finds comfort in Father Jerry Brogan and it’s not until halfway through the book that things really change between them. I loved reading about Cathleen and her girls and the scenes in Ireland looked ‘authentic’, I felt like I was there. The writing style is compelling and Bridget Whelan succeeded in making me crave for this sense of community, I was longing for Ireland.
I need to mention something that I wasn’t used too anymore…well let’s say I’m used to ‘explicit’ sex scenes, (lol I know you are too) but this book is very ‘chaste’. There was a scene with a lot of potential but it went from ‘they kissed’ to ‘the next morning’…argh out-of-the-page Sex scenes are frustrating when you’re not used to it. But that’s only my dirty-minded opinion. *wink*
Bridget Whelan did something impossible…she helped me understand priests. I never understood their motivations (I’m not a religious person) but by the end of the book I understood. Father Jerry loves his congregation (I’m not sure that’s the right word) and they love him. He care for them and like a good leader he helps them, he’s not just praying for them he acts, he starts helping single Irish immigrates write letters ‘home’. The fact that he loves being a priest and being part of a community is the reason why I accepted the ending.
What about the ending? I’m the HEA lover…that being said, the author made the best choice for the ending! It’s not what I wanted but it was the most logical one. I would have hated if thing had happened differently. There’s hope at the end, and that’s more than Cathleen would have had otherwise. See, this is why this book was a challenge for me, I’m left here rethinking my definition of a Happy Ever After. The more I think about it the more I like Cathleen’s choice in the last scene.
I was surprised by how easy it was to read A Good Confession, I didn’t want to stop reading. I was trying to rate this book but it’s so different than what I'm used to that I just can’t rate it in comparison to what I usually read.
I would give it 4 ‘Out-of-my-comfort-zone’ Bookies. It’s a very good book and I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it!
My Thoughts:
I had no idea how I was going to review and rate this book. A good Confession was some kind of challenge for me because it’s out of my ‘comfort-zone’, but sometimes it’s a good thing to try new things. Let’s just say I had a shaky start because I began crying from chapter 1 (and I hate crying), but that was bound to happen when you start a book with a death.
I’m torn, it would have been easier if I had not liked this book . I really enjoyed reading A Good Confession but it went against all the things I love (e.g. the ending). From the book synopsis I jumped to the conclusion that this book was mostly about forbidden love…well it is, but it’s not the main part of the book. For me it’s about what happens after mourning for your husband…How to go on with your life, It’s about Cathleen’s journey to new beginnings. Cathleen finds comfort in Father Jerry Brogan and it’s not until halfway through the book that things really change between them. I loved reading about Cathleen and her girls and the scenes in Ireland looked ‘authentic’, I felt like I was there. The writing style is compelling and Bridget Whelan succeeded in making me crave for this sense of community, I was longing for Ireland.
I need to mention something that I wasn’t used too anymore…well let’s say I’m used to ‘explicit’ sex scenes, (lol I know you are too) but this book is very ‘chaste’. There was a scene with a lot of potential but it went from ‘they kissed’ to ‘the next morning’…argh out-of-the-page Sex scenes are frustrating when you’re not used to it. But that’s only my dirty-minded opinion. *wink*
Bridget Whelan did something impossible…she helped me understand priests. I never understood their motivations (I’m not a religious person) but by the end of the book I understood. Father Jerry loves his congregation (I’m not sure that’s the right word) and they love him. He care for them and like a good leader he helps them, he’s not just praying for them he acts, he starts helping single Irish immigrates write letters ‘home’. The fact that he loves being a priest and being part of a community is the reason why I accepted the ending.
What about the ending? I’m the HEA lover…that being said, the author made the best choice for the ending! It’s not what I wanted but it was the most logical one. I would have hated if thing had happened differently. There’s hope at the end, and that’s more than Cathleen would have had otherwise. See, this is why this book was a challenge for me, I’m left here rethinking my definition of a Happy Ever After. The more I think about it the more I like Cathleen’s choice in the last scene.
I was surprised by how easy it was to read A Good Confession, I didn’t want to stop reading. I was trying to rate this book but it’s so different than what I'm used to that I just can’t rate it in comparison to what I usually read.
I would give it 4 ‘Out-of-my-comfort-zone’ Bookies. It’s a very good book and I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it!
November 7, 2011
2.5 Stars. The review that follows is a partial one. To view the full review, please visit:
http://tbqspersonalbookpalace.blogspo...
Cathleen Brogan thought life was going well; she is married to the love of her life, Mick, they have two beautiful daughters, and while they might not live in the lap of luxury they aren't on the streets begging for food either. But when her husband suddenly gets sick, she never expected the worst to happen....Burying Mick is one of the hardest things Cathleen has ever done. Now how is she to go on with her life?
The one good thing, if you can call it that, that comes from Mick's untimely death is the reappearance of his cousin, a priest, who was more a brother to Mick than even his own brother. Father Jerry Brogan was even the man that married Cathleen and Mick all those years ago. Since that day, they've not seen him, but upon hearing the news, he leaves Italy (where he was currently stationed) to make Mick's funeral in England. His last gift to his friend and non-blood brother is to speak at his funeral.
As a priest, as well as a family member, it is understandable for him to stay around to try and help the grieving widow out. But the thoughts and feelings that Jerry has for Cathleen are anything but pure and innocent, and when she lets him know that she feels the same, he is torn over what to do. Does he
honor his vows to the priesthood or allow himself the one thing he's always wanted: companionship and love?
....
~*~*~
This review is property of TBQ's Book Palace.
http://tbqspersonalbookpalace.blogspo...
Cathleen Brogan thought life was going well; she is married to the love of her life, Mick, they have two beautiful daughters, and while they might not live in the lap of luxury they aren't on the streets begging for food either. But when her husband suddenly gets sick, she never expected the worst to happen....Burying Mick is one of the hardest things Cathleen has ever done. Now how is she to go on with her life?
The one good thing, if you can call it that, that comes from Mick's untimely death is the reappearance of his cousin, a priest, who was more a brother to Mick than even his own brother. Father Jerry Brogan was even the man that married Cathleen and Mick all those years ago. Since that day, they've not seen him, but upon hearing the news, he leaves Italy (where he was currently stationed) to make Mick's funeral in England. His last gift to his friend and non-blood brother is to speak at his funeral.
As a priest, as well as a family member, it is understandable for him to stay around to try and help the grieving widow out. But the thoughts and feelings that Jerry has for Cathleen are anything but pure and innocent, and when she lets him know that she feels the same, he is torn over what to do. Does he
honor his vows to the priesthood or allow himself the one thing he's always wanted: companionship and love?
....
~*~*~
This review is property of TBQ's Book Palace.
July 18, 2011
A Good ConfessionI’ve just finished A Good Confession and what a hugely satisfying read it was. Set in the late nineteen fifties/early sixties, the story centres around the forbidden relationship between a Catholic priest and a young widowed mother, both risking condemnation if ever their secret should be discovered. Switching between the sooty streets of London and the tranquil beauty of Ireland, the story is evocative of its era, cleverly weaving in a back-story of the Irish community and Irish immigrants working to rebuild the city, whilst trying to build some sort of life away from family and home. The characters are beautifully portrayed, the fearsome headmistress ~ put neatly in her place by the heroine, and Kitty, the heroine’s mother, who talks as she finds, to name but two. The priest, Father Jerry, both in vocation and emotion, is totally believable. Despite his community’s adulation, we soon come to realise he is mortal and hurts just like any other man. Subtle humour, combined with attention to detail, make this a book I would highly recommend. Personally, I found it a welcome escape from a life that can sometimes be a little too fast-paced.
July 15, 2009
A really powerful book. Had me in tears – several times – and kept me guessing. I really didn’t expect the ending but when it came I felt yes, it was right and the only way it should end. Really believable characters. As for Father Jerry, well he is the kind of priest you could imagine falling in love with. In places it’s really funny but there’s also a sinister death so don’t expect a conventional hearts and flowers romance. I didn’t read it in one go but only because I have a family. I rushed to get back to it I can tell you.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews