Davidson, Catherine Temma. The Priest Fainted
Talented poet, Catherine Temma Davidson's first novel, The Priest Fainted, is an eloquent and poignant tale that weaves a woman's Greek ancestry with those of her mother, grandmother, and Greek mythology in a lush and lyrical exploration that tingles and delights the senses.
Davidson uses the potent stories of the Greek myths and retells them from a modern woman's perspective using a marvelous whimsical sense of humor along with a intuitive use of language that glows with vitality and wonder. The author compares the stories of each generation and counterbalances them with the myths underscoring the timeless qualities that myths and humanity mirror.
The narrator's voice is distinctive and her tales of both life in Greece and her home in the United States in every generation changes to suit the subject matter but still retains her own timber and tone throughout the book. She is ironic and honest, subjective and objective in appropriate doses. It was hard to put this novel down and the conclusion to the story only a peripheral interest because the journey is so lucious and ripe, bursting with lively language and thought-provoking sentences.
Leane M. Ellis, June 10, 1998.
Lucius Beebe Memorial Library - This page last updated 6/10/98 - lme.