Perfectly Good Man, A
Gale, PatrickAn accident on the rugby field leaves 20 year old Lenny Barnes paralysed and desperate ... desperate enough to involve the local Anglican priest Barnaby Johnson. Barnaby is a man known in his Cornish parish for trying to do what is right, and once again he lives up to his reputation. But in the furore that follows, Barnaby's past, present and future are under the microscope.
This is an engaging novel which treats its wide cast of characters generously as they wrestle with issues of faith, love and morality. [Larger font]Comments from Groups
Most members liked the book a lot. Fortunately we had one dissenter, so there was a good discussion. The general view was that we would read other books by this author. The discussion centred on the alternating time sequence, and whether the novel was too tightly plotted ie/ whether the author was pulling too many strings. We would recommend the book to other groups. Wellington 001 All but one of us really enjoyed this book. One did not like the way the chapters swapped around. Quite an involved story with lots of twists, especially once we started to talk about it. Thank you, once again! Ashburton 016 A good read, leading to a wide ranging and interesting discussion. Palmerston North 013 A nice easy read, not one of our favourites but ok. Hastings 007 All the group loved this one - now to read the sequel/companion book. Waitati 003 The general consensus was that it was a good read - one of our better choices in the last year. Auckland 285 We really enjoyed this book. Wonderful characters and interesting themes on religion, truth and relationships. Wellington 185
Pages
404
404
Year
2012
2012
Reviews
16-10-2023
Well-written, with well rounded characters. Because of its construction, moving backwards and forwards in time, it's better read in large chunks to keep track of characters and happenings.
26-06-2023
Most of our group enjoyed the book but found it rather disjointed as the characters jumped back and forth for ages. But very cleverly written and an interesting portrayal of human nature.
23-06-2023
This book was unanimously a favourite. Such a beautiful illustration of the nuances of faith and the relationship one can have with their faith. Lots of 'imperfect' men in this story and so many characters to love and hate. Well-written. We are wanting more Patrick Gale books.
28-02-2022
Most members enjoyed the book - one so much that she has ordered another 2 books by the same author! Difficult to work out the different characters' time frames, but once sorted a good read.
28-02-2022
Enjoyed by all.
28-02-2022
The book was well-written, but we found the style of writing with the characters at different random ages, quite difficult to get into, or follow.
28-02-2022
Jumped around a bit and difficult to get into, but persevered and enjoyed.
28-02-2022
Another good Patrick Gale novel! We thoroughly enjoyed it, and liked the way the characters were linked and how Gale managed that.
28-02-2022
Some loved it, some didn't enjoy it at all! I think the ones who didn't like it prefer a book to get their teeth into eg. 'Being Mortal', which we had last month.
28-02-2022
Excellent book, enjoyed by all members - generated lengthy discussion.
28-02-2022
Great discussion about the clever style of writing. Excellent character descriptions and many surprises. Thoroughly good read.
28-02-2022
There were mixed views about the style of this book, but most agreed that the language was excellent. There were also mixed views about who the most significant character was. Generally though, Barnaby was considered the signature character.
28-02-2022
Provided very good discussion - we enjoyed his writing and characterisation. The group was split on his style - the helix effect.
28-02-2022
Enjoyed by all of our bookclub.
28-02-2022
An interesting, unique read. Unusual format.
28-02-2022
All of us loved this book. Easy to read; lots of story lines; well-written; thought-provoking; excellent characters; with themes of suicide, gender diversity, religion and faith, and upbringing.
16-06-2021
A few people didn't finish this book. Those that did enjoyed it. It created a lengthy discussion about the title and characters.
06-10-2020
Most of our group really enjoyed this book. Some did not like how the chapters swapped around but overall a very good read. It led to a good discussion on the twists in the plot. A couple of members are now interested in reading the Notes, given the links with two of the characters.