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"The Priest: A Gothic Romance" by Thomas M. Disch

Why I read it: I liked the previous book I'd read by this author, so when I was at the library checking to see if what I'd requested was in (it wasn't) I got this instead.

Bookmark: Library receipt.

Tastes like chicken: Probably the only thing comparable for me would be his other book.

What I liked: The characters were very amusing. I was quite curious how an author could make a book work, when the main character was a pedophile priest. And it did work. I would say it helped that we rather drew away from the priest towards the end and took more interest in the other characters, and it didn't hurt that the priest... well, let's say that things didn't go too well for him.

What I hated: Two things.
  • I hated the author's need to wrap everything up with a tidy explanation at the end. He did this in "the MD" as well. Just be in the ridiculous, go with it, let the characters revel in the hell of their own making. Though I did rather like the resolution of the abortion sub-plot.
  • Whenever I put the book down, I would be confused for a chapter or two about who was who. I wish there were more identifiers other than name for the characters. All the priests and their henchpeople, for example, tended to blend together. Or maybe that was the point. Also, all the pregnant girls. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, perhaps that was intentional. Still, it was annoying at the time.

What I can steal: Good god, this was a cheeky book. I would love to not be afraid of offending people. If I could learn to offend people just a little bit like TMD did, I would probably be much more successful.

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