The Power and the Glory, by Graham Greene, published in 1940, is a thought-provoking tale about the last priest in Southern Mexico, hiding from the authorities, trying to make it to his hometown: Vera Cruz. The story takes place in Mexico during the 1930s, where the authorities are severing the southern region of its catholic roots. Priests are arrested and executed, Mass is banned, and so are the sacraments, including baptism, confession, communion, etc.
The story follows a priest with a disreputable past, going from town to town as he heads north. But wherever he goes, the villagers plead for him to stay and perform the sacraments, such as confession or baptism. Despite the risks that this poses on them (as well as on himself), he does so, then moves on. With a merciless lieutenant pursuing him, his soldiers have started taking hostages from the villages, while also pursuing an American who has committed crimes elsewhere.
As the story unfolds, we see it from various points of views, including the perspective of the Fellows family (who are from England), a mother reading to her children about a saint, a dentist (also from England), the lieutenant who is hunting the priest, and the priest himself, as he rides a mule across the forest regions of Mexico.
As we discover more about the priest’s past, we see the inner struggle he faces (wondering if he is even a worthy ambassador of the faith), but despite wanting to flee north, he feels obligated to perform the sacraments. In some cases, he does so begrudgingly, as in one scene where he listens to confession, but not just from one person, but the whole village. There is also a man who follows him, sent by the authorities, since there is a reward for turning the priest over to the lieutenant.
With lots of close calls and moments where danger is always lurking, the suspense never lets up. Everything boils down to the last act where the priest must decide–being so close to freedom–whether to do what his conscience tells him to or to head north.
The prose of the book is stunningly stark yet poetic. The imagery is vivid, and there is an uneasy tension throughout that held my attention from start to finish. Even though the story can be grim at times, it is ultimately about hope and salvation in the end.
Fallton Havenstonne 