Book Review: Dear James
A novel by Jon Hassler
(Chicago: Loyola Press, 1993, 2007), 384 pp., $13.95)
Ah, the Church Lady! Every parish has one, and many times more than one. Miss Agatha McGee spent her entire adult life as a teacher and then principal of St. Isidore Catholic School in the northern hamlet of Staggerford, Minnesota. When the parish council voted to close the school and Miss McGee involuntarily retires at the age of seventy, Fr. Francis Finn fears she will take on parish meddling as a full-time job.
But she doesn’t. In fact, she is depressed, and the neighbors report that she is (gasp!) watching television at night. As the various early scenes of the novel progress, it is clear she remains up on the latest gossip. She makes it her business to police the actions of Sister Judith, the parish administrator with a penchant for “novel” prayers that Agatha deems blasphemous. But overall, her icy demeanor masks a deep sadness and despair.
Agatha has secrets, too. For years, she kept up a correspondence with an Irish priest, Fr. James O’Hannon. At first, she didn’t know her penpal was a priest. She stopped sending him letters when she learned his true identity during a trip to Dublin. Nevertheless, she writes him from her isolated perch as the guardian of Staggerford’s Catholic morals. Instead of the post office, she puts them in the trash.
To shake Agatha from her depression, Fr. Finn invites her on a pilgrimage to Rome. Meanwhile, Fr. O’Hannon writes a letter begging for her correspondence again, as he is fighting cancer. He arranges to be in Rome alongside Agatha, and their chaste romance is reborn. Agatha finds new hope and looks forward to the future again.
Unfortunately, her letters to Fr. O’Hannon are discovered by the daughter of her best friend while she is gone. Irate at Agatha’s callous criticism of her mother, Imogene broadcasts the content to the entire community via a tape-recorded interview with Sister Judith. Agatha returns from her heavenly trip to the near universal anger of her small town. Although her best friend eventually forgives her, she is quite startled by the response.
Fr. James O’Hannon visits Staggerford, and feels the cold shoulder first hand, after seeking treatment at the famed Mayo Clinic nearby. Agatha beams through the entire visit, finally not caring what others might think of her unorthodox friendship.
Distraught at the unending public censure, and yet strangely unrepentant, Agatha visits James in Ireland again. Her friend is now retired, and preaches to end the civil unrest in Ireland. His life is at risk, and Agatha willing places her own next to his. Staggerford is suddenly seen in a new light for her, and she arranges to bring back home a young boy to the safety of her quiet town.
She returns to a town full of repentant friends. They did miss her, and apparently, no one was surprised to learn of her truest feelings about them. She was never shy about sharing her universal disapproval of all their shenanigans anyway. Her forgiveness of Imogene sets the stage for a party honoring her 35 years of service to the town library.
While no one appreciates being criticized, the town apparently took stock of her life in her absence, and repented of its anger. Moreover, Agatha finds that forgiveness builds relationships, a fine thing to learn this side of the veil.
Jon Hassler is a pleasant novelist. The sentences flow, and his descriptions of petty, small-town details made me laugh out loud a few times. At the same time, he seems to want to compare Staggerford’s troubles with those in Ulster. I’m not sure that works. The conflict in Ireland is complex, with an overlay of contrasting religious beliefs and the festering wounds of many centuries of colonialism, conquest and dire poverty. Such concerns are alien in “American as apple pie” Staggerford. Maybe I am reading too much into the juxtaposition of plot lines?
Fighting terrorism seems very different than vanquishing parish gossip. Then again, maybe the Church lady could use a vacation, to put that gossip in context. It sure worked for Agatha.
Discussion Questions:
At Agatha Magee’s Thanksgiving party, Fr. Finn deliberately hands Sr. Judith a strong bourbon, “Alcohol, he knew, ate away at her intensity. He liked her better lit." For every positive relationship between a priest and a DRE, I’ve known at least two others less cordial. Aside from alcohol, what else hampers positive parish relationships? What can lay persons do to support those in parish ministry?
Gossip can result in hurt feelings and broken relationships. In Staggerford, people chose not to tell Agatha about things for fear of her poor opinion. Can gossip be a positive moral force to keep others from sinning? Or is gossip a spiritual sin that needs to be eradicated?How can we share our true opinions with others about sin in a way that is healing?
Who is the Church lady at your parish? Are you the one? Should there be one?
Hassler broadens Agatha’s horizons in Ireland. She relishes the act of bringing hope to others. O’Hannon fears he has failed his flock by his silence about the terrible cost of terrorism in his native land. His preaching is an act of hope. How does personal hope become contagious?