I also finished "A Green Journey" by John Hassler. This was one of the nine books given to me by Joan, David's aunt. I enjoyed this book very much. Not being Catholic, I don't know all the nuances of the religion, but I found myself enchanted by Agatha, a 60-something year old staunch Catholic. She takes no guff, is strong-willed and respected by all. She's also quite lonely. Never having been married, she questions the choices she made in her youth; to not settle. To have a career over men she did not truly love. She sees her Church changing over the years, becoming more secular in her opinion and she fights it tooth and nail.
She strikes up a pen-pal relationship with an Irish man named James who shares her religious beliefs. They discuss the Church, its bishops and priests, its failings and strengths, but as the years go by, they also discuss their loneliness, their childhood, their losses. Agatha feels closer to James than to anyone.
Her church decides to plan a trip to Ireland. She decides to go to meet James, and that's where her world is turned upside-down. You'll have to read the book; I won't give the ending away. Her storyline is heart-wrenching and wonderful , including her interactions with the new Bishop Baker ("Call me Dick.") who, in Agatha's opinion, is destroying the churches in this Midwest town of theirs, closing down Catholic schools, having nun run parishes, getting rid of the ceremony of Confirmation (something Agatha truly believes in for her 6th grade students she piously teaches). Her encounters with Bishop Baker are full of sarcasm, fun banter and eventually mutual respect.
The second story line involves a young girl named Janet, who Agatha takes in during Janet's last month of pregnancy; a girl who is 17 and unmarried. We see Agatha and Janet develop an open friendship that Agatha does not have with anyone else, except with James in Ireland. Janet is an old soul. She does not let her poor circumstances hold her back. She is confident and self-assured. She marries a pathetic excuse for a man, though, and this bothered me. He was whiny, depressed most of the time, made bad financial decisions, quit jobs every other month and was jealous of Janet's son. I didn't see her attraction to this man, and chapters that dealt with him were tedious. Self-Reflection, much? :)
In all though, it was a good read. Ireland sounds both beautiful and frightening. I will remember always laughing aloud at Bishop Baker's reaction to these words: "During our absence Lady Wellington gave birth to four kittens." :) Read it and tell me if you laughed too.
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