A Read worth the read

The always excellent Dr. Jeff Mirus of Catholic Culture (one of my daily reads) has penned an essay, "A Catholic Writer Worth Knowing: Piers Paul Read," that discusses Read as a novelist (The Death of a Pope), historian, and essayist. Here is a bit from the latter section:

As I mentioned, I took charge of a collection of essays Read published in 2006 through Darton, Longman and Todd in London and Ignatius Press in San Francisco. I’m very glad I did, because Read writes essays like a novelist, with an extraordinarily clear perception of both personalities and underlying themes. He seems to understand what makes people tick, along with the ideas they develop to either strengthen or subvert the Church. Besides, Hell and Other Destinations has such a delightful title, especially with the word “Hell” in much larger print, blaring out from my nightstand for all to see as they meander unsuspectingly through my home now that the place is up for sale.

More seriously, there is a true human warmth in Read’s essays which, if visitors would read and think about them, might obviate the need to keep fresh bread baking in the kitchen. He explores a wide variety of topics, as evidenced by the following section headings: Faith (I’ve mentioned how Read grew into his full-fledged Catholicism), The Church (he understands the divisions extremely well, and is on the right side), Liberation Theology (he was strongly tempted by Communism, but no more), History (Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Dan Brown’s fantasies), Sex and Marriage (there’s the rub, no?), Writers (something he knows firsthand), and Saints. (Like most serious Catholics, Read is well-equipped to understand saints, yet he would never claim to know sanctity firsthand.)

Some of the more polemical materials comes from reviews originally published in the English press. The introductory essay on Hell (originally planned as a talk to be given at a Jesuit house, and perhaps not surprisingly found unsuitable for that purpose) is published in this collection for the first time. In it, Read carefully unfolds the historical Catholic understanding of Hell, and arrives at a fundamental concern about the contemporary Church:

I'll cut it off there--you can read the entire essay on the Catholic Culture site. Also, here are some excerpts from Read's books published by Ignatius Press: