BOOK REVIEW: The Curate's Awakening

The name of author George MacDonald is probably not well known today and the chances of his being on the bestseller list may be slim, but the fact that C.S. Lewis considered him to be his master made me curious about his work. After reading THE CURATE'S AWAKENING I understand why Lewis admired MacDonald enough that similarities can be found in their writings.

George MacDonald was born in 1824 and had hit the peak of his popularity by 1876. His message was essentially a spiritual one. His opinions ran counter to the popular views of organized religion of the time. Christianity in England during the late nineteenth century was locked into constricting doctrines often carried to extremes. It taught that the people should fear  God’s severe wrath and that all who were not born one of the “chosen

few” were doomed.

MacDonald’s sermons portrayed a warm God, one of love and compassion. He was scorned by the officials of the established church, but he refused to relax his attacks from the pulpit on the Phariseeism. Trying to influence the system from within, he was expelled. He then took his case directly to the public. The popularity of his books affirmed to him what was in his heart.

THE CURATE'S AWAKENING departs from his other writings at the time by being the first of his novels. In it he uses the story of a young minister and the people of his congregation to further MacDonald’s own argument.

Thomas Wingfold has settled into his first parish. As most people who became part of the clery, Thomas goes through the motions every Sunday. Having found a source of sermons written by an earlier minister, he has not had to bother writing any on his own. He is a good person, an honest person, but it has never occurred to him that more might be required.

At a dinner party he is asked the question. “Tell me, do you really believe one word of that?” He realizes that he had chosen the ministry simply as a job and that he does not have any idea of what he believes. His search for understanding brings an unusual group of people together.

The characters in the story could very easily be stereotypes. Instead we get caught up in their uniqueness: the young girl who has never had to have a serious thought has to face the ugly fact that  a cruel murder has taken place, her widowed aunt whose husband had been a minister  does not want to see changes of any type in the church, let alone ones that make the congregation think, the young lawyer who makes a convincing argument against religion has been a regular visitor in the small town and seems to have vague ideas of marriage, and a man who needs to find forgiveness is hiding from the authorities.

Although this story was written over one hundred years ago and the characters are there to make the author’s point, I found it a good read. An important element in any story for me is good characterization. The people in Thomas’ life were there for the author’s convenience but still held my interest.

Considering that the book was written during the late 1800’s, the language was very readable. I think of this as a florid time in literature and the subject itself could have tempted the author to go flowery on us. Instead it is a book full of subtle humor and some spiritual ideas that have not gone stale.

At the risk of sounding disloyal to my idol, MacDonald is a little easier to read than most of C.S. Lewis is. This is not to say that  Lewis has been replaced on my list of favorite authors.