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The Best Catholics in the World
The Best Catholics in the World
Oct 6, 2024 4:16 AM

Author:Derek Scally

The Best Catholics in the World

The Number One Bestseller

Shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards 2021

'A great achievement . . . Brilliant, engaging and essential' Colm Tóibín

'At once intimate and epic, this is a landmark book' Fintan O'Toole

When Dubliner Derek Scally goes to Christmas Eve Mass on a visit home from Berlin, he finds more memories than congregants in the church where he was once an altar boy. Not for the first time, the collapse of the Catholic Church in Ireland brings to mind the fall of another powerful ideology - East German communism. While Germans are engaging earnestly with their past, Scally sees nothing comparable going on in his native land. So he embarks on a quest to unravel the tight hold the Church had on the Irish.

He travels the length and breadth of Ireland and across Europe, going to Masses, novenas, shrines and seminaries, talking to those who have abandoned the Church and those who have held on, to survivors and campaigners, to writers, historians, psychologists and many more. And he has probing and revealing encounters with Vatican officials, priests and religious along the way.

The Best Catholics in the World is the remarkable result of his three-year journey. With wit, wisdom and compassion Scally gives voice and definition to the murky and difficult questions that face a society coming to terms with its troubling past. It is both a lively personal odyssey and a resonant and gripping work of reporting that is a major contribution to the story of Ireland.

'Reflective, textured, insightful and original ... rich with history, interrogation and emotional intelligence' Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times

'An unblinking look at the collapse of the Church and Catholic deference in Ireland. Excellent and timely' John Banville, The Sunday Times

'Engaging and incisive' Caelainn Hogan, author of Republic of Shame

'Remarkable ... Essential reading for anyone concerned about history and forgetting' Michael Harding

'Fair-minded ... thoughtful' Melanie McDonagh, The Times

'Very pacey and entertaining ... and it changed how I regard Ireland and our history for good. Fantastic' Oliver Callan

'Original, thought-provoking and very engaging' Marie Collins

'A provocative insight into a time that many would rather forget' John Boyne

'Challenging' Mary McAleese

'Explores this subject in a way that I've never seen before' Hugh Linehan, Irish Times

Reviews

An extraordinary story ... At once intimate and epic, this is a landmark book

—— Fintan O'Toole

A great achievement ... brilliant, engaging and essential

—— Colm Tóibín

An engaging and incisive book that asks what keeping the faith cost us, how it shaped us and what it means now

—— Caelainn Hogan , author of Republic of Shame

Remarkable ... [Scally] examines the past with disarming honesty and a sense of compassion. His book is essential reading for anyone concerned about history and forgetting

—— Michael Harding

Offers some challenging end-of-an-era reflections on being Catholic in the scandal-ridden church of contemporary Ireland

—— Mary McAleese

Absolutely thrilling. A wonderful blend of personal story, journalism and history - it goes to unexpected places and asks questions we don't usually consider

—— Oliver Callan

Accessible, original, thought-provoking and very engaging

—— Marie Collins

A wonderful book

—— Catriona Crowe

Reflective, textured, insightful and original ... rich with history, interrogation and emotional intelligence

—— Diarmaid Ferriter , Irish Times

A highly intelligent, patriotic work

—— Business Post

Compelling

—— Irish Examiner

Excellent and timely

—— Sunday Times

Women from the New Testament are given a voice and their side of the story in this richly imagined but impressively researched novel. Thayil's knowledge and rootedness in the biblical world is palpable on every page.

—— Juanita Coulson , Lady, *Books of the Year*

A gleaming and brilliant novel of history, mystery and mythology set in Georgian London...a real gem of a debut

—— Anna Mazzola

A complete and utter joy of a book. I adored the characters and it was an incredibly atmospheric read. The evocation of eighteenth century London was beautifully done, the mystery kept me turning the pages and the love story captured my heart. My only complaint was I didn't want it to end!'

—— Elodie Harper, bestselling author of The Wolf Den

This novel is a work of genius. Beautifully written and perfectly plotted with a heroine you'll fall in love with. It richly describes Georgian London and weaves character study and gorgeous setting and Greek mythology into a perfect book. One of the best historical novels I've ever read.

—— Christina Sweeney-Baird

Delicious, intriguing and original...unfolds beautifully into a cracking finale.

—— Liz Hyder, author of The Gifts

If you like a novel steeped in great characters, a Gothic Georgian London, a world of antiquities and myth - this is an absolute winner. I loved it!

—— Essie Fox

The author has very skilfully and pleasurably set her tale in Georgian London...wonderful characters ...book groups will love the plot and be entranced by Dora's world

—— NB Magazine

Sumptuous, hypnotic and unforgettable. This beautifully told story of Gothic Georgian London is filled with mesmeric wonder, compelling mysteries and fascinating characters. I loved every page of it.

—— BP Walter, author of The Dinner Guest

[An] immersive, unusual love tale

—— Claire Allfree , Metro

Stokes-Chapman can write fascinating, three-dimensional characters... Meanwhile, extensive research brings the period so much to life you can taste it... full of buried family histories and fantastical archaeological theories, Pandora is a readable, solid debut

—— Natasha Pulley , Guardian

Whether the discussion is about artificial intelligence, the future capacities of knowledge, politics, philosophy, intuition, history (philosopher Thomas Metzinger shares experiences from post–World War II Germany that are hard to look away from), religion, reason, or the nature of consciousness, Harris grounds lofty discussions with concrete examples and his gift for analogy . . . free and open debate, in the best sense of the word . . . the book’s advantage over the podcast is that readers can linger as they need to and cherry-pick interviews at will. Recommended for anyone who wants to spend time with intelligent minds wrestling not with each other but with understanding.

—— Kirkus Reviews

One of the most eloquent and inspiring memoirs of recent years... A Dutiful Boy is real-life storytelling at its finest

—— Mr Porter, *Summer Reads of 2021*

Mohsin Zaidi...in a compassionate, compelling and humorous way, tells his story of seeking acceptance within the gay community, and within the Muslim community in which he grew up

—— Gilllian Carty , Scottish Legal News

A powerful portrayal of being able to live authentically despite all the odds

—— Mike Findlay , Scotsman

Zaidi's affecting memoir recounts his journey growing up in east London in a devout Muslim household. He has a secret, one he cannot share with anyone - he is gay. When he moves away to study at Oxford he finds, for the first time, the possibility of living his life authentically. The dissonance this causes in him - of finding a way to accept himself while knowing his family will not do the same - is so sensitively depicted. One of the most moving chapters includes him coming home to a witch doctor, who his family has summoned to "cure" him. This is an incredibly important read, full of hope.

—— Jyoti Patel, The Guardian

A beautifully written book, a lovely story, life-affirming

—— Jeremy Vine

Zaidi's account is raw, honest and at times quite painful to read. It's so vivid that it feels almost tangible, as though you're living the experiences of the author himself.

—— Vogue

This heartfelt and honest book is beautifully written and full of hope

—— The New Arab
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