Crimes of the Father

Perhaps best known for the Booker Prize-winning Schindler's Ark, released here as Schindler's List and later adapted into an Academy Award-winning film, Australian novelist Keneally's literary career spans six prolific decades and more than 30 novels. This book harkens back to both a theme in his first novel, The Place at Whitton, and to his career path before becoming a writer: the Catholic priesthood. The novel opens with Father Frank Docherty in a cab, returning to his hometown of Sydney, Australia, to visit his elderly mother after being sent to Canada for his outspoken views. A terse and confrontational conversation with the cab driver uncovers a sexual abuse scandal centered on the church's revered defender, Monsignor Leo Shannon. As Docherty identifies the victims and reveals the truth, he begins challenging a hierarchy and power structure that has sanctified and defined his own existence.