...and while I'm here:
44. Acts and Omissions by Catherine Fox
I adored this! It’s not for everyone – the subject matter (church politics) is quite niche, and the narrative style (arch cod-Victorian omniscient narrator) is very marmite. But the characters were drawn with wit and compassion, and the book managed to debate some serious issues without becoming too preachy. In fact, it was anything but po-faced: there’s a lot of swearing, and references to gay sex, but this does a great job of humanising the characters so they don’t come across as Agatha Christie-style vicars. The plot (such as it is), is about who will become the next Archbishop of York, and also whether Freddie May (a charming but dissolute former chorister) will manage to get himself back on track or fall off the rails completely. Freddie has been “adopted” by the well-meaning Bishop and his wife, in an attempt to straighten him out (in fact, Freddie is flamboyantly gay, and there is also a lot of tension caused by the fact that the action happens while the C of E is tearing itself apart in the background over recognition of same-sex couples and gay bishops). There’s also a romance struggling to bloom despite feminist and religious misgivings, as well as some touching parts about being an empty nester, a genuine attempt to convey how faith can sometimes conflict with other feelings and emotions, and a sprinkling of acid satire about universities. It’s also really funny. (Basically, this is all catnip to me.)
Fox is brilliant at imagining the internal lives of her characters, and I really wished that they were real so I could get pissed with Jane and Dominic and gossip about the other inhabitants of the Close. Like Jilly Cooper, the pleasure here is in getting to know a large cast of varied characters, dropping in and out of their stories and seeing how those stories intertwine. Not a lot happens (or possibly, too much happens, given all the “issues” that are represented), but I didn’t really care about the destination because I was just enjoying my travelling companions.
Although I’m not religious (now), I had a misspent youth and early adulthood as a chorister, so I loved the references to music throughout: Howells Col Reg, Ubi Caritas on Maundy Thursday, disdain for the Evangelicals who sing Slane in 4/4… (You might think that the many irreverent, sweary, camp, bitchy characters are a bit overegged, but my experience of hanging round chapels and cathedrals suggests that they’re spot on. Once, in the middle of a very solemn evensong service, the (very gay) choirmaster leant over to me and whispered out of the blue, “What’s even nicer than roses on your piano? … Tulips on your organ 
”)
The novel was written in weekly instalments, Dickens-style, and Fox has left the first chapter online in case anyone wants a taster. Thank you for introducing me to this series, @bibliomania – I’m trying to pace myself so I don’t gobble up the other three books too quickly!