The Holy Mark
The Tragedy of a Fallen Priest by Gregory Alexander
The Holy Mark is a dramatic monologue told from the point of view of a psychologically disturbed Catholic priest who continually rationalizes and justifies his abusive relationships with teenaged boys. It combines the elements of a psychological case study and dysfunctional New Orleans Italian family saga.
The story begins with the narrator “in exile” in a tiny North Louisiana parish where he has been reassigned by the Church hierarchy and where he suffers the humiliation of celebrating mass in a leaky trailer. He reflects on his life, including his childhood and twenty-five years in the Church. That reflection, covering the years 1970-1995, is the meat of the novel.
In this disturbingly memorable novel about a wayward priest set in late 20th-century New Orleans, Alexander explores familial revenge, rails against the hypocrisy of the Roman Catholic Church, and creates a believable narrator guilty of heinous acts.
The book is quite terrible in its ability to get under your skin and creep you out. I felt quite disturbed by the author’s capacity to bring empathy and understanding to some seriously unpleasant and uncomfortable thoughts and actions and the protagonist gains our sympathy even while being a seriously repugnant person. A shocking novel of family, power, and revenge, The Holy Mark is the story of one reluctant priest caught between the cynicism of his own Southern American upbringing heavy with Italian heritage and the expectations of belief, religious devotion and the never questioning that goes with it and the political machinations of the Roman Catholic Church.
Alexander uses his skill with prose to lead us carefully into the mind of this monster and without being sensational or overly frightening he allows the reasons and reasoning of this chilling protagonist to become normal as we delve deeper into the book. He really reminded me of another New Orleans writer Poppy Z Brite. Her books, like Alexander’s (and one of Alexander’s more famous fans- Anne Rice) are set into the fetid crumbling multi layered city. Brites book- ‘Exquisite Corpse’ which explores a love affair between two gay serial killers and is both highly erotic and deeply disturbing at the same time; makes you feel for the lovers and their relationships. This same sense of intimating us the readers in the depravity of the protagonist and his relentless acts of dehumanization flow through this and I was glad to put the book down. One wonders what it is about this crepuscular city that produces such authors as Rice, Brite and Alexander.
To read an excerpt, click here:
Father Tony is a wretchedly believable character, skilfully realised and as beguiling and charming on the page as he must be with his victims. He creeped me out. The books disturbing subject matter is never allowed to convince of its depravity though, the Church and its hypocritical dealing with abuse are skewered though with the bitter self-delusion of Father Tony’s self-serving lies also serving to expose the Catholic Chorus hierarchy in their cesspit of denial. It’s a class act, dragging us into the crepuscular mind of this paedophile priest while showing his actions, rationalisations and reasoning embedded in the Church that serves as his employer and cover. It’s a fascinating way to tackle the epidemic of institutional and organised abuse and denial in the Catholic Church, by using its own voice to condemn it. There’s no struggle in this priest though, he seems to have an almost incidental relationship with God and never goes through any kind of conscience wrenching or inner turmoil around his behaviours.
Not an easy read by any means, but certainly one of the more fascinating and disturbing books I’ve read in a long while. This is a subject that is continuously in the news and fresh exposure continues to horrify, Gregory Alexander is possibly the first author to explore the inner workings of these demonised abusive priests in a way which renders them human even while destroying the innocence and shattering the trust around them.
To read more about the book, click here:
Out now paper back £14.99
For more info or to buy the book, click here:
You must be logged in to post a comment.