Ne Kadar İleri Gidebilirsin

by David Lodge, Ayşe Öngün (Translator)

Ne kadar ileri gidebilirsiniz? Yani cinsel partnerinizle…David Lodge, “Ne Kadar İleri Gidebilirsin?”de bir grup Britanya’lı Katolik gencin yaşamını 1950’lerdeki öğrencilik yıllarından 1980’li yıllardaki yetişkinlik dönemine uzanan süreçte kendi benzersiz üslubuyla gözler önüne seriyor. Kahramanlarımız (ara ara devreye giren yazarın gözetiminde), Katolik inançlarının koyu gölgesinde cinsel arzular, evlilik, doğum kontrolü ve hayatın diğer gerçekleriyle başa çıkmaya çalışıyorlar.

Elbette ki temel çatışma, dinlerin insanları zapturapt altına almada ilk olarak başvurdukları cinsel zevk ve doğum kontrolünde düğümleniyor. İlk gençliklerinden itibaren, Papa’nın duyurularıyla altı daha da çizilen doğum kontrol yöntemleri affolunmaz bir günah olarak kahramanlarımızın kafasına kazınıyor. Bedenin diğer günahlarının aksine, bir işe yaraması için bu günah önceden planlanarak ve tekrar tekrar işleniyor. Dolayısıyla sinirlenerek kontrolü kaybetmek, sarhoş olmak ve zina gibi iyi niyetle, günah çıkardıktan sonra tekrarlanabilen bir eylem değil. Seni sakramentlerden dışlar, bu nedenle ve aynı dönemin Katolik öğretisine göre, Paskalya Görevi’ni yapamazsan kendini kesin bir şekilde aforoz etmiş olursun. Böylece ya güvenilir bir doğum kontrol yöntemi olmadan idare etmeye çalışır ya da dinden çıkarsın; makul alternatifler işte bundan ibarettir. Ve yol istesen de istemesen de Cehenneme kadar uzanır… Papalar durmadan gidip geliyor ama bu cadı kazanı gibi kaynayan ortamda Katolik Kilisesi’nin doğum kontrolü konusundaki fetvası değişmiyor.

Peki bu durumda, kahramanlarımız “ne kadar ileri gidebilirler?” Elbette hayatın elverdiği yere kadar! İleri, hep ileri…David Lodge, dünyanın hızlı değişim yıllarında, insanların değişimi kadar Kilise içi tartışmaları ve dinlerin revizyon tarihini de kara mizah tadında anlatıyor. Ortaya çıkan manzara gülünç mü acı mı? Galiba, kelimenin tam anlamıyla trajikomik. Sözün kısası, bir David Lodge kitabı işte!

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Novels, Romance, Religion, Contemporary, Literary Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

David John Lodge was an English author and critic. A literature professor at the University of Birmingham until 1987, some of his novels satirise academic life, notably the "Campus Trilogy" – Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses (1975), Small World: An Academic Romance (1984) and Nice Work (1988). The second two were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Another theme is Roman Catholicism, beginning from his first published novel The Picturegoers (1960). Lodge also wrote television screenplays and three stage plays. After retiring, he continued to publish literary criticism. His edition of Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (1972) includes essays on 20th-century writers such as T.S. Eliot. In 1992, he published The Art of Fiction, a collection of essays on literary techniques with illustrative examples from great authors, such as Point of View (Henry James), The Stream of Consciousness (Virginia Woolf) and Interior Monologue (James Joyce), beginning with Beginning and ending with Ending.

Reviews

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 4 out of 5]

How Far Can You Go? is an excellent novel if you like novels of ideas where the author's commentary is constantly present as a sort of voice-over. It has been labelled a black comedy - on the front jacket, Graham Greene calls it "hilarious" - but for me, it was more of a bittersweet experience. The author has an irreverent attitude, and characters are presented as caricatures; but as the novel goes on, we empathise more and more with them and the life dilemmas they face, and we find it difficult to laugh at them.

"How far can you go?" is the question a group of young college students - devout Catholic, all - ask themselves at the beginning of the novel: that is, how far you can go without committing a mortal sin. Because these are full-blooded youngsters, hormones truly on the rage, being held back from their biological urges by the strictures of a medieval religion. As the tale goes on, they slowly learn that this question is applicable to all aspects of their life, not just sex. And people react differently: some break away, some become even more conservative, and some lose their marbles.

At the same time, the Catholic Church itself is grappling with the question with how far it can go to accommodate modernity without dismantling the religion itself. This dichotomy of adaptation versus survival is tearing the church apart - and also, creating serious ripples in the lives of Catholics, both the clergy and the laity.

David Lodge purposefully uses an omnipotent authorial voice, rather like the Biblical God. He tells, rather than shows, many a time; breaks into asides where he directly talks to the reader; and keeps on reminding us that the characters he created are just products of his imagination. This works brilliantly, as his running commentary on the changes in Catholicism interspersed with the scenes from the lives of his characters creates a wonderful kaleidoscope of a society in turmoil after the Second World War - a society where Hell is extinct, morality is a strangely fluid concept, and sin and virtue are ambiguous ideas. Ultimately, the novel is about change - which is the only constant in human history.

This is a book which will make you think a lot.

[Stela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A-l citi pe Lodge nu e niciodată atît de simplu pe cît pare la prima vedere. Ironia şi verva povestirii te pot impiedica uneori să treci de primele niveluri de lectură şi te pot face să uiţi, mult mai uşor decît în cazul altor scriitori dublaţi de critici literari, că autorul ştie să mînuiască toate uneltele narative, că un artificiu literar nu e niciodată folosit empiric sau inocent, că există nişte sfori care manevrează personajele şi un subtil deus ex machina care împinge inexorabil acţiunea spre un deznodămînt.

Numai că de data aceasta Marele Păpuşar s-a hotărît să se deconspire, să iasă la lumina reflectoarelor conform bunului obicei postmodernist, transformîndu-se în narator-personaj-romancier-critic literar, într-o polemică indulgentă cu sine şi cu cititorul, care are ca rezultat o ludică reinterpretare a metaromanului ca gen.

Prin urmare, descoperim în Cît să-ntindem coarda (cel puţin) trei planuri compoziţionale : unul, să-i spunem „documentar”, oferind o grămadă de informaţii interesante despre încercările de modernizare ale Bisericii catolice de-a lungul a vreo 23 de ani (din 1952, cînd începe acţiunea, pînă în 1975, cînd se încheie mai mult sau mai puţin), unul ficţional, urmărind destinul unor personaje în relaţie cu aceeaşi Biserică catolică şi unul autoreferenţial, în care naratorul ne dezvăluie sau se preface că ne dezvăluie tehnici narative şi/sau de interpretare, se reinventează ca personaj etc.

Ca în orice roman realist care se respectă (şi realismul este numai una dintre iluziile pe care Lodge le întreţine cu acea aparentă seriozitate care este una dintre mărcile lui stilistice) planul documentar este mascat subtil de cel ficţional, în contextul în care personajele sînt variante ale credinciosului catolic din a doua jumătate a secolului al XX-lea: preotul (Austin Brierley), călugăriţa (Ruth), cucernica (Angela), convertitul homosexual reprimat (Miles), libertina (Polly) etc. şi prin urmare mai greu de ţinut minte individual şi mai uşor de asimilat ca personaj colectiv.

Principala problemă pe care eroii trebuie s-o rezolve este împăcarea învăţămintelor bisericeşti cu descoperirea propriei sexualităţi. Dacă la început concepţia lor despre lume este fermă în naivitatea ei (omul se află între Rai şi Iad şi doar credinţa şi obedienţa îl pot salva), pe măsură ce capătă experienţa căsătoriei, îşi pierd virginitatea şi fac copii (cam în această ordine), preceptele religioase tind să piardă din importanţă, pînă cînd “într-un anumit moment din anii ’60, iadul a dispărut”. Cum s-ar zice, pe măsură ce capătă conştiinta de sine, eroii renunţă la gesturile dogmatice (participarea la toate slujbele), se revoltă împotriva unor decizii (d. e. enciclica papei care interzicea contracepţia) şi le încalcă (încep să folosească anticoncepţionale), îşi caută forme proprii de exprimare spirituală (devin membri ai unei biserici experimentale: Catolicii pentru o biserică deschisă), sau chiar renunţă la biserică (părintele Austin Brierley se căsătoreşte, Ruth pleacă în pelerinaj şi are o epifanie in Disneyland (!)) etc. Toate acestea se petrec treptat, personajele avînd parte de experienţe adesea comice, de-a lungul cărora teme serioase ca prima iubire, boala, căsătoria, religia şi moartea sînt demitizate cu umor şi adesea cu tandreţe.

Oricît de interesantă şi spumos amuzantă ar fi această analiză a sufletului catolic ea este doar un pretext pentru realizarea celui de-al treilea plan, insinuat treptat în naraţiune. La început, e doar o sugestie: romanul începe într-un glorios stil balzacian, cu acea grijă pentru detalii arhitecturale şi temporale în scopul ancorării ferme a acţiunii în spaţiu şi timp şi cu celebrul artificiu compoziţional care adună personajele la un loc (o slujbă la biserică) pentru a le prezenta pe toate odată. Dar naratorul omniscient dispare repede, făcînd loc pentru o vreme unei voci pretins critice, care ţine să ne atragă atenţia asupra semnificaţiilor numelor si a detaliilor vestimentare, uneori în cel mai absurd stil şcolăresc: d. e. Adrian, “cel cu ochelari (=vederi limitate), îmbrăcat cu palton de gabardină cu cordon (= reprimare a instinctelor, hotărîre şi spirit autoritar).”

Naratorul se identifică mai încolo cu romancierul însuşi, atunci cînd evocă scrisoarea unui cititor ceh care la apariţia romanului Muzeul britanic s-a dărîmat! (motivul citării cărţii în carte, desigur), îl numise “o carte extrem de surîzătoare”, ce scopul de a oferi o cheie de lectură cititorului:

Cartea de faţă nu este chiar un roman comic, dar am încercat s-o fac să surîdă cît am putut de mult.

În altă parte, acelaşi cameleonic narator, pentru a justifica de ce a expediat într-o singură frază relaţia sexuală (“o dată sau de două ori pe săptămînă”) dintre Dennis şi Angela, citează clasificarea evenimentelor narate făcută de un critic francez, care afirmase că romancierul poate: a) povesti o dată ce se petrece o dată; b) povesti de n ori ce se petrece o dată; c) povesti de n ori ce se petrece de n ori; d) povesti o dată ce se petrece de n ori.

În ultimul capitol naratorul intră de-a binelea în roman, devenind o „voce înregistrată pe bandă” dintr-un scenariu transcris de Michael după emisiunea filmată de soţul lui Polly. Este vocea care anulează graniţa dintre text şi metatext, voce pe care celelalte personaje o ascultă (fără s-o poată identifica) vorbind despre asemănarea dintre relaţia lor cu religia şi relaţia cititorului cu romanul:

Nu mai trebuie doar să credem, ci şi să ştim că credem, să ne trăim credinţa şi totuşi s-o privim din exterior, conştienţi că într-o altă epocă şi într-un alt moment istoric am fi crezut în ceva diferit [...] fără a avea sentimentul că acest adevăr ne anulează credinţa. Este la fel ca atunci cînd citim un roman sau – dacă tot vorbim de aşa ceva – atunci cînd scriem unul şi ne menţinem o conştiinţă dublă asupra personajelor – care sînt, cum ar veni, atît reale cît şi ficţionale, libere şi condiţionate – ştiind că, oricît de captivante şi convingătoare ni s-ar părea ele, nu vrem să citim (sau să scriem, în funcţie de situaţie) numai povestea, ci şi o parte din acea serie nesfîrşită de poveşti cu ajutorul cărora omul a căutat şi va căuta întotdeauna să dea un sens vieţii. Si morţii.

În fine, în capitolul final naratorul se include firesc printre personajele al căror destin prezent şi viitor îl deconspiră (în acelaşi stil realist care vrea să prelungească iluzia că viaţa lor, ca si a sa, va continua şi după ce romanul s-a încheiat):

Eu predau literatura engleză la o universitate din cărămidă roşie, iar în timpul liber scriu încet-încet romane şi sînt în criză de timp.

Cuvintele de încheiere sînt numai aparent o parodie a stilului naiv din cronicile de odinioară, căci acel “Rămas bun, cititorule!” este în definitiv o ultimă ieşire la rampă a celui mai complex personaj din operă: naratorul proteic.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this in the early Eighties, shortly after it was published. It was my first encounter with David Lodge, an author who went on to give me much pleasure over the years. I remember it mainly for its humour and when I saw a copy (the same Penguin paperback edition I read all those years ago) in a second hand bookshop in York I couldn’t resist revisiting it. It came as a big surprise to discover just how serious, sometimes tragic, a book it is and Lodge at one point even makes an authorial intervention to declare that ‘this is not a comic novel’. Not that it’s without humour, some of it quite broad and very funny, but at heart it’s a serious, sometimes sorrowful book about a group of friends who we first meet at university in London in the 1950s, attending mass in a rather dreary Catholic Church in Bloomsbury. The book follows their lives, and those of their partners and spouses through a couple of decades of what proves to be a turbulent time in the history of the Roman Catholic Church as competing forces of liberalisation and conservatism play out in Rome with the establishment of the Second Vatican Council and the issue of the papal decree Humanae Vitae looking likely to make massive changes to the Church’s approach to human sexuality and reproductive rights, only to be thwarted by a conservative backlash, with the unintended consequence of many Catholics in western liberal democracies deciding to take the law into their own hands. Against this backdrop, David Lodge paints a vivid picture of messy, complex human lives and enduring friendship. Despite its seriousness, there were obviously enough laughs in How Far Can You Go to steer me in the direction of the rest of Lodge’s books, some of which are very funny indeed,

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

How Far Can You Go? chronicles the progress of a circle of British Catholic university students in the 1950s and follows their lives (almost exclusively their sex lives) through the tumultuous '60s and '70s. In explicit detail, Lodge describes their early forays into heavy petting and masturbation followed by their loss of virginity, all interwoven with their feelings of (Catholic) guilt, remorse, and their struggle to follow Church teaching on sexuality.

Lodge compares this moral struggle to a game of Snakes and Ladders: ". . . sin sent you plummeting down toward the Pit; the sacraments, good deeds, acts of self-mortification, enabled you to climb back towards the light. Everything you did or thought was subject to spiritual accounting. . . On the whole, a safe rule of thumb was that anything you positively disliked doing was probably Good, and anything you liked doing enormously was probably Bad, or potentially bad—an 'occasion of sin.'" Salvation and damnation are depicted as merely a game at which Catholics play.

As the couples mature and marry, they change with the times, adopting relativistic views on everything from sexuality to liturgy. Lodge mixes the liberalization of practices and doctrines, leading the reader to believe that the Church and its unchanging teaching on sexual morality is culpable for the drudgery of child-rearing, mass laicization of priests, the characters' sexual and familial dysfunction, their general screw-ups and mishaps, as well as adultery, homosexuality, sexual inhibitions, mental illness, and even disabled children.

Artificial contraception, specifically the birth control pill, becomes the linchpin on which their personal ethics hinge. As its acceptance grows, Lodge describes the parallel changes in society at-large and within the Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council and Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humana Vitae.

The question, “How far can you go?” becomes broader than groping genitals and illicit trysts, expanding to a loss of the sense of sin, the existence of Hell, and the acknowledgment of Truth and authority. Clearly, Lodge believes there is a tipping point, though he leaves determination of its whereabouts to the reader. "But in matters of belief (as of literary convention) it is a nice question how far you can you go in this process without throwing out something vital." The ultimate question, asked by one of the characters in the final pages, is "Why be a Catholic at all?"

Most depressing is that every character sees faith as merely a legalistic bargain with God, not a relationship with a loving Father. Faith becomes, at its essence, merely a game - Snakes and Ladders. Even the unnamed bishop sees the hubbub over Humana Vitae as no more than a political obstacle.

In the end, the couples have replaced one misery (the rigors of self-discipline) for another (the effects of sin).

While frank discussion of Church teaching, struggles with chastity, Pharisaic legalism, and human sexuality are worthwhile and important, I found this treatment bleak and disheartening. While others have hailed How Far Can You Go? as a brilliant black comedy, I found the humorous elements and wry caricatures rooted in a cynicism that comes at the expense of Truth.

Lodge's writing is crisp and engaging. The narrative is interrupted at various points, however, as the author interjects a personal six-page diatribe, expounding on his contempt for natural family planning, surmising that ". . . Humana Vitae itself is a dead letter to most of the laity and merely an embarrassing nuisance to most of the clergy."

How Far Can You Go? is valuable only as a window into a bygone era, an era in which the pill was considered a panacea for long-suffering, fertile Catholics. An era, thankfully, supplanted by the papacy of St. John Paul II, who asked the more meaningful question, "How do I love?"

Read my full review at http://www.catholicfiction.net/book-r...

[Trin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This 1980 novel by Lodge (whom you may have noticed I've been reading a lot of and enjoying this year) follows a group of young English Catholics over a period of about 20 years, enabling us to see the ways their religion affects their lives (and their lives affect their religion), particularly in the shadow of Vatican II. I'm not Catholic, so partly this book was entertaining from an anthropological standpoint. Lodge, on the other hand, is Catholic, so you know that he's drawing at least somewhat from his own experiences—as a bit of authorial insertion he employs makes clear. This device doesn't work for me as well as some of the other creative twists on the standard novel Lodge has pulled in other works; even when done well, authorial insertion makes me a little uncomfortable. (I'm looking at you, Douglas Coupland and Stephen King.) But that's not the bulk of what this novel is, which is both funny and sad, with Lodge's typical skill at capturing human motivations and, well, patheticness, in a wry, intelligent way. Reading it, I thought this novel came from much earlier in Lodge's career than it in fact does—it was actually written after Changing Places. It feels a bit rougher to me than some of the others, and explores in less detail subjects he tackles elsewhere, like in Paradise News. Still, it was highly readable and hard to put down. I'm very much enjoying having a different Lodge novel to read every few weeks, and will be sad when I run out.

[Marisolera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Describir este libro como "comedia divertidísima" es engañar a la gente. No tiene prácticamente nada de comedia. Es más, a mí me parece terriblemente triste lo que la iglesia católica hizo por los protagonistas de esta novela y por tanta otra gente, amenzada con las penas del infierno por no llegar virgen al matrimonio o usar métodos anticonceptivos.

Es, eso sí, un libro excelente para ver lo que ha "progresado" la iglesia católica desde los años 50 hasta hoy. Aunque en realidad, yo creo que los que han progresado han sido los católicos y no la iglesia en sí, no la institución. Como hija del "método del calendario" (yo y otros cinco hermanos más) me doy cuenta de que mis padres sufrieron esta tortura: no poder disfrutar de su sexualidad por temor a los embarazos. Recuerdo el alivio de mi madre cuando le extirparon el útero por la cantidad de miomas que tenía: no podría quedarse embarazada nunca más. Porque aquí los métodos anticonceptivos llegaron aún más tarde que en Inglaterra: Franco no estaba por la labor.

Y todo el tema de la castidad, la pureza, la virginidad, qué horror, qué tristeza esas noches de boda más perdidos que un pulpo en un solar, qué de tiempo perdido. Y esa forma de aceptar las desgracias como pruebas que Dios te manda para que te portes aún mejor.

En realidad, las historias de las parejas de esta novela están tan dispersas que a ratos no sabes quién es quién y quién ha hecho qué. Es un libro en el que pasan pocas cosas y en el que se tratan con mucha más profundidad los dilemas de los católicos y las normas que deben cumplir y su evolución a lo largo de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, que las vidas de sus protagonistas. Es más un documento histórico que una novela. Muy crítico, esto sí, con la iglesia católica.

Lo que me ha sorprendido es que haya (o hubiera) tantos católicos en Gran Bretaña. Siempre pensé que era una religión residual y que había muchísimos más protestantes que católicos.

[Ezgi · Rating 3 out of 5]

50li yıllarda Londra’da eğitim gören Katolik gençlerin kendilerini arayışlarının serüvenini anlatıyor Lodge. Dini normlar ve cinsellik bu serüvenlerin odak noktası. Ergenken tanıştığımız karakterler din kurallarına sıkı sıkıya bağlı. Yetişkinliğe geçerken yaşadıkları krizler romanın çatışmasını oluşturuyor. Aileleri ve dinle olan ikilemlerini derinlikle anlatıyor. Kilisenin kürtaj ve doğum kontrole olan tavrı ile kişisel özgürlüklerin çatışmasında gençlerin girdiği arayışlar okuması epey zevkli konulardı. Daha erken bir yaşta okusam daha çok etkilenirdim muhtemelen. Lodge okumaya devam etmek istediğim yazarlardan biri oldu.

[Dorina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book offering an incredible (funny) insight into the Catholic religion and the way it changed in the past century. I’m curious how a Catholic reader would find it (funny? offensive? true?) but for a non-Catholic one it is definitely an interesting read and a learning experience.

[Derek Driggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been curious about David Lodge for a while because of his famous Campus Trilogy, but since I had this old paperback lying around I just started here. Somehow he takes a philosophically complex topic (the titular one) and turns it into a laugh-fest, totally unserious, entirely cynical, absurdly crude, and above all, oh-so-British. And isn't it the most serious topics that need that treatment from time to time?

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

"La iglesia es responsable de tantas tragedias".

Más que una novela es la historia de la evolución de la Iglesia Católica inglesa contada a través de las vidas de un grupo de jóvenes católicos.

Por momentos pierdes un poco el hilo, de quién hizo el qué, entre tantas historias entrelazadas de personajes-tipo que sirven a Lodge en su crítica al Catolicismo expresada en una prosa exquisita. Supongo que por lo bien escrito (y traducido) que está continué la lectura. Que, por otro lado, gana en situaciones cómicas a medida que pasan los años.

Sentimientos de culpa, abnegación y sacrificio. ¿Para qué? Castidad, pureza, virginidad para sucumbir en unas noches de boda desastrosas. Una vida sexual insatisfecha por no poder usar métodos anticonceptivos. Una vida entera fracasada por el miedo a acabar en el infierno.

"Es tan difícil ponerse en la piel de un papa como debe de serlo para un papa ponerse en la piel de, por ejemplo, una joven madre de tres niños que yace en una cama de matrimonio y que, al notar que su marido comienza a acariciarla, experimenta un conflicto entre el deseo de girarse hacia él y el miedo a un nuevo embarazo."

[I'm Not · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book!

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro es!!!!!! Me ha sabido a poco :( he odiado ese final tan abrupto, aunque entiendo que dentro de la lógica del argumento y la estructura cuadra perfectamente. Tengo más que decir, pero me tengo que ir, ya completaré la reseña en algún momento.

[Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

En un amanecer invernal londinense se palparía aquello de que “la certidumbre llega como un deslumbramiento”. Ocho jóvenes que se conocen en una iglesia consagrada al patrón de las causas perdidas emprenderían el valor para enfrentarse a la vida. Comprenderían en el itinerario vital que les teje David Lodge, con las palabras de un poeta, que “se existe por instantes de luz o de tiniebla”, que “lo demás son las horas, los telones de fondo, el gris para el contraste”, que lo demás es la nada… En la educación católica de todos ellos se reflejaría la metafísica del mundo. Todo se sometería a una evaluación espiritual. “El juego se llamaba Salvación, y consistía en llegar al cielo y eludir el infierno”. Lidiarían con la pérdida de la virginidad y sus dudas morales, con el amor y su excitación febril, con la paciencia y el perdón como actos heroicos y virtuosos, con el tránsito por un ‘tablero’ lleno de trampas donde los pecados podían ser “casillas terribles”… También se revolverían entre aquellas dudas de la fe que no es ciega: “La mente tiene cordilleras, acantilados aterradores, escarpados, insondables. Sólo los subestima quien nunca se asomó a ellos”… Lodge lanza a los jóvenes a vivir parándose con el pie levantado, perdiendo un peldaño, ganando un segundo: “Después el universo / prosigue en el vacío su muerte giratoria. / Pero por un momento se detiene, viviendo”…

[Isobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this - brilliant combination of humour and history.

[Barb · Rating 1 out of 5]

Based on other reviews, I can see that I'm a minority when it comes to this book. I just found it awful from the page two

The writing was sterile and shallow and downright creepy with author's swooning over young girl's masturbation. There's also a lot of sexism in this book and many things treated as facts that really are not.

Also, just a tip for fellow author's: if you are to write about a person of a sex opposite of yours, at least find out how it's done and how it feels.

[enpantic · Rating 3 out of 5]

-lectură lejeră
-ai ce învăța despre dogma romano-catolică
-urmărește evoluția pe mai multe decade a unui grup de prieteni ce la început sunt conservatori
-emancipare
-probleme în viața intimă a cuplurilor căsătorite
-cât poți întinde coarda când vine vorba de problematici religioase
-îți dă un vag sentiment de parcă ai urmări un serial

[Iuliana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book! Could not get enough of D. Lodge's humorous, ironical and sometimes cynical approach of Catholicism, in particular, and religion (or is it faith?)in general, viewed, reviewed, analyzed, scrutinized, criticized while dealing with the torments his characters are dealing with, trying to cope in a world of religious beliefs and practices which not only restrict, but sometimes crush the freedom and nature of human spirit as it develops itself, trying to move from the stages of curiosity and need to understand the changes one's body and spirit naturally undergoes while gradually moving from the cocoon to the butterfly stage - the stage of understood, explored and assumed maturity (by understanding and accepting one's being), as opposed to the changing world outside the conformity and strictness of the church or traditional home. Lodge's prosaic style guards the reader from any potentially unwanted over-sentimental approach of his character's bumpy voyage through the wild-wood of experiences in the 1960s, when the clash between religious strictness, on the one hand, with the sense of guilt or punishments clad in different forms it gives rise to when one even dares to look through the window of life with different eyes than the ones they were taught when brought up, and the liberation from all sorts of prejudices, stigma, stereotypes and behaviors which the '60s fostered, on the other hand, could give rise to and make room for the feared but somehow inevitable (in a well-defined world of punishment) personal drama.
The book seems to be preaching against the idea of an immutable, absolute religious perspective on life - this one or the afterlife (this is what one of the characters tacitly accepts when musing on her being Catholic, saying that she might as well have been of different religion by birth), or even religious at all, especially if we look at how the line between what is acceptable and what is not in the Church's eyes can move depending on the social, etc. events, movements. The author's ludic style plays a major role in this respect. The ending best sums this up: nothing is carved in stone, the future is uncertain.

[Pietia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lubię takie książki- niespodzianki. Nic nie mówiło mi nazwisko autora, okładka niewiele zdradzała, recenzji przed lekturą zwykle nie czytam. Przerzucając strona po stronie tę niewielkich rozmiarów książkę, otwierałem szerzej oczy ze zdumienia jak trafnie, prawdziwie i pięknie zarazem, z wyczuciem, ale i humorem oraz ironią opisać można przemiany lat 60-tych i 70-tych ubiegłego wieku, gdzie z jednej strony nastąpiła rewolucja seksualna, a z drugiej rewolucja kościelna (jednak nie w sprawach seksualnych).
Oto mamy grupkę angielskich katolików, którzy dorastając, niemal na każdym kroku zadawać sobie muszą wiele pytań, między innymi to, gdzie leży granica. Tytułowe pytanie można by sformułować inaczej: jak sobie radzić w świecie religijnych wierzeń i praktyk, które są nie tylko restrykcyjne, ale które praktycznie duszą w zarodku wolność człowieka, tę wolność zarazem opiewając i głosząc. Sugestywne obrazy ognia piekielnego, obsesja czystości i grzechu zaszczepione młodym ludziom (pamiętajmy, że to czasy przedsoborowe w Kościele) będą im towarzyszyć przez całe ich dorosłe życie mając przeogromny wpływ na ich wybory i decyzje lub ich brak. Ci posłańcy mieszczańskiej moralności wtłoczeni zostali w zamkniety krąg, który trafnie wyraża jedna z bohaterek, bo "do szczęścia brakuje jej zawsze wyrzutów sumienia, a gdy je wreszcie ma, czuje się nieszczęśliwa z ich powodu". Próbują się z tego wyrwać, od tego uciec. Tracą dziewictwo ( nie bez wyrzutów sumienia i lęku przed piekłem), wyobrażają sobie, "jak to będzie, kiedy obudzą się pewnego ranka i przeczytają w gazetach, że papież pozwolił w końcu na stosowanie środków antykoncepcyjnych", próbują sobie radzić z miłością i śmiercią w cieniu tych obsesji.
Książka kończy się wyborem Jana Pawła II na papieża i pytaniem: co się stanie teraz? "Rachuby zawodzą, przyszłość wydaje się mglista i niepewna".
My już wiemy po ćwierćwieczu pontyfikatu tego papieża-konserwatysty, co się stało. Na tyle wiemy, że zanucić sobie możemy stadionową przyśpiewkę: Nic się nie stało, [Polacy], nic się nie stało....A raczej, nic się nie zmieniło...

[Pietia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lubię takie książki- niespodzianki. Nic nie mówiło mi nazwisko autora, okładka niewiele zdradzała, recenzji przed lekturą zwykle nie czytam. Przerzucając strona po stronie tę niewielkich rozmiarów książkę, otwierałem szerzej oczy ze zdumienia jak trafnie, prawdziwie i pięknie zarazem, z wyczuciem, ale i humorem oraz ironią opisać można przemiany lat 60-tych i 70-tych ubiegłego wieku, gdzie z jednej strony nastąpiła rewolucja seksualna, a z drugiej rewolucja kościelna (jednak nie w sprawach seksualnych).
Oto mamy grupkę angielskich katolików, którzy dorastając, niemal na każdym kroku zadawać sobie muszą wiele pytań, między innymi to, gdzie leży granica. Tytułowe pytanie można by sformułować inaczej: jak sobie radzić w świecie religijnych wierzeń i praktyk, które są nie tylko restrykcyjne, ale które praktycznie duszą w zarodku wolność człowieka, tę wolność zarazem opiewając i głosząc. Sugestywne obrazy ognia piekielnego, obsesja czystości i grzechu zaszczepione młodym ludziom (pamiętajmy, że to czasy przedsoborowe w Kościele) będą im towarzyszyć przez całe ich dorosłe życie mając przeogromny wpływ na ich wybory i decyzje lub ich brak. Ci posłańcy mieszczańskiej moralności wtłoczeni zostali w zamkniety krąg, który trafnie wyraża jedna z bohaterek, bo "do szczęścia brakuje jej zawsze wyrzutów sumienia, a gdy je wreszcie ma, czuje się nieszczęśliwa z ich powodu". Próbują się z tego wyrwać, od tego uciec. Tracą dziewictwo ( nie bez wyrzutów sumienia i lęku przed piekłem), wyobrażają sobie, "jak to będzie, kiedy obudzą się pewnego ranka i przeczytają w gazetach, że papież pozwolił w końcu na stosowanie środków antykoncepcyjnych", próbują sobie radzić z miłością i śmiercią w cieniu tych obsesji.
Książka kończy się wyborem Jana Pawła II na papieża i pytaniem: co się stanie teraz? "Rachuby zawodzą, przyszłość wydaje się mglista i niepewna".
My już wiemy po ćwierćwieczu pontyfikatu tego papieża-konserwatysty, co się stało. Na tyle wiemy, że zanucić sobie możemy stadionową przyśpiewkę: Nic się nie stało, [Polacy], nic się nie stało....A raczej, nic się nie zmieniło...

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 4 out of 5]

How Far Can You Go by David Lodge – author of the resplendent Changing Places http://realini.blogspot.com/2021/05/a... and The Campus Trilogy

10 out of 10





Alhamdulillah, I was ecstatic when reading most of this book, which comes after the third and final part of The Campus Trilogy, Nice Work http://realini.blogspot.com/2023/04/n... that was less of a enchantment…granted, the first two parts have been exhilarating



How Far Can You Go has everything this reader wants, serious debate, humor galore, fascinating characters – I was just thinking that we can take the elements of positivity and see that they are all present in this marvelous book, that confirms what I thought with Changing Places and The Small World

Positivity http://realini.blogspot.com/2015/05/p... by Barbara Fredrickson is a classic of Psychology and what we can put down here would be the elements identified by the ultimate expert – awe, interest, amusement, inspiration, hope, pride, joy, serenity, gratitude and love



They are all included in the opus of David Lodge in my view, we have personages that are inspiring, events that are amusing, we find joy, and everything else in here – it could be that I came with lower expectations, as I was not thrilled by Nice Work, but looking at the book, I still say it went All The Way…

Let me look back with Gratitude to some of the characters – Angela is a good looking Catholic, who has a relationship with Dennis, another member of a circle of students that went to mass, which in the days of the early 1960s was performed by father Austin – spoiler alert – he would later…marry Lynn



Lynn would be Dennis’ secretary, and as unlikely as this could be, Dennis is having a brief affair with her, in the last chapters of the book -would that last spoiler alert function as a warning for more revelation, is anybody reading this far, it is always a question and there is the temptation to be modest, or just realistic and say do not bother, they have stopped following this a long time ago…indeed, somebody likes a text I wrote, commented on it, and made me see that in fact, she had not read the note, which is no loss, it is just funny in a way, and then confirms that ‘liking, loving’ something is actually nothing

The characters that are followed in this exquisite, captivating, wondrous book belong to the same Catholic group, but then they change with the times, and some of them will try to push for change in the Catholic Church



Ruth is on the heavy side – what a relief that people do not read this, for then there would be comments, calls for Canceling me, which as it is, is already done, nobody bothers, so I am canceled Avant la lettre – and she would become a…nun, she would travel to America, and then somehow fall into a community of believers who…talk in tongues, and she will have some sort of epiphany and…dance

Polly is also a Catholic – they all are to some extent – but she has some experiences that will alter her beliefs, she would travel to Rome, where another Catholic (it is all relative, he and many others are that in name only) is having sex with her, even if he is married and this would be a deadly sin – the hypocrisy is present, amusing at times, and then depressing at others – when she comes back to England, she would feel that the compatriots are not very virile, she is used with ‘doggy style ‘and thinks that is ‘normal’



Albeit with many hilarious passages, this is a serious novel, we even have dead children and the author explains that he is not taking this fact lightly, there is Nicole, daughter of Dennis and Angela, who is a ‘mongoloid’, she has Dow Syndrome – I wonder what the accepted terms would be now, I have read an article in The Economist saying that there is a state of flux, Deaf people would rather have this in use, and then there are other terms that are changing – and Dennis comes to think that this is a sign from God

Nevertheless, when Annie (I think that was the name) dies run over by a car, there are legitimate questions over what kind of a sick message from God that could be – this could explain to some point the affair that Dennis has with his secretary – there are other explorations of sex, which is allowed by the old Catholic Church only in the name of procreation, then things change and it is illuminating to read what David Lodge has to say



Michael and his wife are invited at one point to see Polly and Robin – if some names are wrong, well, sorry – and the hosts are rich, they have ponies, amenities, including a sauna, where the guests are invited, the man of the house has the hope that this would lead to a swingers party, they would all have sex with each other, but aside from the lust of the vising male, the curiosity of the guest female, the results are disappointing

Michael in fact has a heart attack, or comes near it, as they tumble though the snow, out from the sauna, he collapses – it had been worse than reckless, for they had also indulged in drinking alcohol, and booze, sauna and then snow do not fit, the latter two, yes, they are what Scandinavians do on a regular basis, but without the alcohol – there are quite a few other people that are left out from this note, such as Father Austin, Robin, Angela’s brother, the gay member of the Catholic circle and quite a few more…however this must be said: it has been an elating, enchanting experience and I look forward to another novel by David Lodge





Now for a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se



As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...

[Mark Mcphee · Rating 4 out of 5]

"So they stood upon the shores of Faith and felt the old dogmas and certainties ebbing away rapidly under their feet and between their toes, sapping the foundations upon which they stood, a sensation both agreeably stimulating and slightly unnerving. For we all like to believe, do we not, if only in stories? People who find religious belief absurd are often upset if a novelist breaks the illusion of reality he has created. Our friends had started life with too many beliefs - the penalty of a Catholic upbringing. They were weighed down with beliefs, useless answers to non-questions. To work their way back to the fundamental ones - what can we know? why is there anything at all? why not nothing? what may we hope? why are we here? what is it all about? - they had to dismantle all that apparatus of superfluous belief and discard it piece by piece. But in matters of belief (as of literary convention) it is a nice question how far you can go in this process without throwing out something vital."

[C.N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent portrayal of how Vatican II shook things up. Human loves have always been out of order unless they are directed by God. God is one of order. The hope of this book is that every age will have its downfall temporarily. But in the end, things will be brought upright again. We have our moments of outrage and reform and then realize the downfall of how far we take it. Something is usually birthed from it--some good, some bad. Therefore continuous revision. That is why I am quite glad the Holy Spirit is the overseer of all things and the God of truth will fill all things and all worlds will be the way they ought to be.

[Headley Mist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes fiction, sometimes non-fiction, sometimes the author deliberately dives out of the frame to remind us of that this is just a book. What i like abouth the author is the way he treats his characters - with respect and understanding, without judgements and justifications.

Not what I would call a typical novel by Lodge, but highly recommended to those interested in religion and ethnography.

[Conor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good book and a good window into the world and the Church in the years between 1950 and 1980.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful novel that follows a number of Catholic protagonists through the 1960s sexual and cultural revolution and how it affected them. Fascinating

[LIBRETADELECTURAS · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Para comprender el relato de los Evangelios hemos de interpretarlo como una metáfora”

Excelente novela que no recomendaría, sin embargo, a lectores católicos fervientes que quieran seguir siéndolo: creo realmente que su lectura podría socavar su fe. Ya desde el principio, empieza como una crítica aceradísima de las ridiculeces de la doctrina católica, poniendo en evidencia sus planteamientos más insostenibles (“esa síntesis maravillosamente compleja e ingeniosa de teología y cosmología y sofismas, que situaba a las almas individuales sobre el tablero de una especie de juego de la oca espiritual”), yendo directamente al grano con mucho ingenio, pero sin sarcasmos ni sutilezas.

La idea central de la novela parece ser mostrar el progresivo descrédito de la religión católica entre la juventud (inglesa), en gran parte por la falta de flexibilidad demostrada por una Iglesia que no supo –no quiso- actualizar su doctrina represiva cuando vio llegar los cambios que traía la revolución sexual de finales de los 60, y que en última instancia supuso el inicio del declive de las tendencias más irracionales del catolicismo (“El desvanecimiento gradual de la metafísica católica tradicional”).

El tema me resulta muy interesante y me toca de cerca, pero es que además lo desarrolla con una prosa elegante y frondosa en forma de novela coral entretenida y brillante, desplegando un muestrario de personajes bien caracterizados cuya evolución y peripecias (que incluyen amor, amistad, trabajo, tragedias, enfermedad, muerte, y también sexo explícito aunque bastante disfuncional) nos mantiene enganchados y sorprendidos. De hecho, lo que me ha parecido curioso es por qué continúan aferrándose a la religión, una vez comienza a resquebrajarse su fe. Por qué no llega a desmoronarse totalmente. Cómo, desde diversos grupos organizados, intentan modificar los posicionamientos más retrógrados de la Iglesia (“Los conceptos cambian junto con nuestros conocimientos”) para preservar su filosofía esencial, ya por entonces totalmente cuestionada, en vez de olvidarse de todo el asunto. Entiendo esas posturas como fases de transición que cada personaje vive a su manera y a su ritmo (“Era demasiado mayor para el movimiento estudiantil, demasiado apolítico para la Nueva Izquierda (…), demasiado moral (o tímido) para la contracultura de las drogas, el rock y el sexo sin compromiso”), procesos lentos, dolorosos y graduales de pérdida de fe que abocan finalmente a un derrumbe inexorable de las creencias heredadas (“Todos se mantuvieron fieles a la fe, pero también notaban cómo los antiguos dogmas y las viejas certezas se desvanecían ante ellos, y cómo se debilitaban las bases sobre las que se asentaba su vida”). El problema es que no es fácil abandonar aquello por lo que se ha sacrificado tanto. (Con la religión católica no acabarías nunca con el tema del sacrificio: ante dos opciones siempre puedes escoger la más jodida para ti, haciéndote la vida imposible pero complaciendo al Señor con tu sufrimiento… o qué?)

Observo también que, por lo que parece, muchas de las situaciones que describe llegaron a Españita con 20-30 años de retraso: la religión que me enseñaban a mí en el colegio en los 80, coincide punto por punto con la rígida y abstrusa ortodoxia católica de indulgencias plenarias y pecados imperdonables contra el Espíritu Santo, de dogmas inaprensibles y oscurantismo siniestro, de obsesión malsana por la Santa Pureza y por la culpa, el castigo y el temor de Dios que describe la primera parte de la novela refiriéndose a los años 50-60. Allí nunca nos hablaron de la revolución sexual, ni por supuesto de los anticonceptivos. Aunque realmente no recuerdo que ni en Historia ni en Literatura ni en nada llegásemos nunca mucho más lejos de la Edad Media. Como mucho al Siglo de Oro. “Es el condicionamiento durante la infancia lo que produce el daño”.

Almas frente a cuerpos.. Espíritu frente a carne . Reflexión trascendente frente a embrollos terrenales. Lectura profunda y amena. Una delicia.

Lo reeedita Impedimenta, aunque es un libro escrito en 1980.

[Michal Čop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je to kniha dvoch tvári. Po prvej kapitole som mal kvôli všetkým tým prasačinám chuť rituálne ju spáliť ako jeden z najväčších omylov aký som si kedy kúpil. Na konci mi zas bolo ľúto, že už to skončilo.

Kniha Kam až se může je románom o ôsmych mladých katolíkoch, ktorý ukazuje ako v dôsledku sexuálnej revolúcie a Druhého vatikánskeho koncilu postupne opustili katolícke učenie o sexualite a ako sa na základe toho zmenila ich viera.

Katolícku vieru ako jediná úplne opustila len pôvodom írska katolíčka Viola. Dosť sa od nej vzdialila Polly, ktorá si vždy rada užívala, a aj bývalý kňaz, otec Brierley, ktorý prešiel cestou od tradičného kňaza cez liberálneho kňaza a rebela až po laicizovanie a štúdium religionistiky.

Ostatní sa stali liberálnymi katolíkmi združenými v organizácii Katolíci pre otvorenú cirkev, ktorú založil Adrián. Chlapík, ktorý chcel ešte ako študent obhajovať tradičné učenie katolíckej cirkvi v Hyde parku. Ruth, ktorá sa pôvodne stala rehoľníčkou sa zmenila na charizmatičku. Konvertita a homosexuál Miles sa vrátil späť do anglikánskej cirkvi, lebo po koncile už nevidel zmysel zostávať v katolíckej cirkvi. Edward sa cez lektora PPR presunul do pozície zástancu antikoncepcie, aby sa nakoniec stal horlivým nadšencom pre Turínske plátno. Michael sa stal vysokoškolským učiteľom na pedagogickej fakulte katolíckej univerzity, ktorý sa cez liberálnych teológov a spisovateľov svojej doby stal v podstate hedonistom, ktorý si chce život hlavne užiť. Z Dennisa sa po smrti dcéry stal formálny katolík, ktorý podviedol svoju celoživotnú lásku Angelu so sekretárkou. No a Angela predstavuje v podstate tradičnú katolícku ženu/matku/manželku, ktorá si vieru síce zachovala, ale zmysel života už nachádzala skôr v starostlivosti o svoju rodinu, najmä hendikepovanú dcéru.

Kniha je veľmi vzácnou sondou do zmýšľania vtedajších mladých ľudí, ktorí vyrastali ešte v "starej" katolíckej cirkvi a ktorí zažívali premeny, ktoré so sebou priniesli pontifikáty Jána XXIII. a Pavla VI. a s tým súvisiaci Druhý vatikánsky koncil. Autor v knihe uvádza, že hlavnou zmenou medzi katolíkmi v šesťdesiatych rokoch bolo to, že prestali veriť v peklo. To podľa neho zmenilo celý metafyzický koncept v ktorý dovtedy verili. Zaujímavé je, že počiatky toho vidí v ustanovení vatikánskej komisie, ktorá mala preskúmať otázku antikoncepcie. Vtedy podľa neho katolíci (alebo aspoň tí liberálni) pochopili, že učenie cirkvi sa môže meniť a, že to, čo bolo včera ťažkým hriechom ním už zajtra byť nemusí.

Keď potom vyšla encyklika Humane Vitae všetci tí, ktorí verili tomu, že cirkev schváli užívanie antikoncepcie ju buď odmietli - a spolu s ňou aj hierarchiu cirkvi- alebo upadli do morálneho relativizmu v ktorom síce objektívne platí to, čo hovorí pápež v encyklike, ale subjektívne dôvody môžu spôsobiť (a v zásade takmer v každom prípade spôsobujú), že branie antikoncepcie nie je ťažkým hriechom.

Inak je sranda, že Lodge, hoci liberálny katolík sa tu v mnohom zhoduje s Houghtonom, ktorý ostal tradičným katolíkom slúžiacim až do smrti latinskú omšu.

Škoda len, že Lodge je aj v tomto dvojtvárny. Kniha je totiž vzácna tým, že to nie je sploštená kritika cirkvi, ale skôr akási deskriptíva, ktorá skutočne hodnoverne ukazuje ako premýšľal vzdelaný anglický katolík tej doby. Okrem toho, autor priznáva aj to, že liberáli nehrali vždy čestne. Napríklad podľa neho nebolo fér, že odmietali, že by legalizácia antikoncepcie znamenala úpadok mravov, čo podľa neho nie len, že nastalo, ale aj sa to dalo očakávať. A taktiež naznačuje, že nie všetko, čo so sebou sexuálna revolúcia a zmeny v cirkvi bolo dobré.

Na druhej strane však celkový obraz knihy kazí svojim prehnaným dôrazom na sex. A to po všetkých stránkach. Teda jednak tým, že kniha obsahuje zbytočne až nechutné sexuálne scény. No a tiež tým, že rolu sexu extrémne preceňuje. A to až tak, že neobmedzený prístup k sexu považuje priam za niečo bez čoho sa nedá prežiť šťastný život. Pritom sa zdá, že aj on sám vie, že to tak nie je.

[Babybelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought I would extend my range from fanatasy,historical,historical mystery ,crime and adventure so decided to go for literary prize winners.Hoping to improve my mind? Distract from the current Covid and perpetual moaning and finger pointing on the news? Avoided most recent awards and decided to go for humour.Many of of the big prizes are,I think, US based and nations vary a bit on what is funny.I went for a GB one, above,and a US one...more of that later.Can't remember if this actually won a prize but one of the author's works did or was certainly nominated.It is about 50s university students, initially bound together by their faith,staunch members of the London University Catholic Society.About their doubts,desires(ooh,sex!) fears,lives and especially the impact of their changing fate and the strictures at the time on sex,heaven,hell,a proper, goodly and Godly life.Bit challenging for them?!
Interesting? Yes,especially as I recognise these Practising Christians in all their variety, even tho the setting is 'bit before my time'. They are still around, albeit up dated to current times.Closely observed and recognisable from the writing.The book is not what I expected which was laugh out loud funny, or even slightly chortling . Rman Catholic Graham Greene is quoted on the cover of my copy as finding it funny....Hmm. It was faintly humorous,wittyon occasions but not funny.Glad I read it but am not keeping it. Well written, interesting especially if you are broadly faith based and even if you are not. If you want something different give it a try.,it is an interesting read.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am fairly sure I read this years ago under its UK title "How Far Can You Go?" (there is probably some fly-on-the-wall amusement to be gotten from the publisher meetings where these sorts of changes are negotiated).

Exploring much of the same terrain as "The British Museum Is Falling Down" but with a larger scope, Lodge follows 10 Anglo-Catholics from the mid-50s to mid-70s: four (eventually) married couples, their undergraduate priest who ultimately leaves the priesthood, and the odd man out who takes two decades to admit he is gay.

The original title refers more directly to the preeminent concern of their late adolescence, having sex, and follows them through their first time travails (some do wait until their wedding night), approaching the act with zero information.

Besides sex, the characters tussle with their faith in many other areas of life, and through them we observe the unfolding of the larger history of the Church at the time - the Second Vatican Council, the Humanae vitae encyclical of 1968 (in which the failure to allow any kind of contraception caused many Catholic women to give up waiting and go on the pill).

Eventually, the early 70s arrive, the mass is in English, guitars are strummed, the wafer is taken in the hand - if you lived through it, I don't have to remind you.

The characters are sympathetic, and there is plenty of humor but not approaching farce as there are convincingly rendered tragic moments as well.

[Miłosz Kozikowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gdzie leży granica naszej permisywności?
Pytania o kwestie zaspokojenia seksualnego i kontroli urodzeń zadaje sobie rówieśnicze koło oświeconych i wykształconych młodziutkich chrześcijan, „zaszczepionych przeciwko upadkowi wartości i degrengoladzie małżeńskiego życia.”

Punktem wyjścia ich dojrzewania jest gra w duchowe „węże i drabiny” - wedle jasno ustalonych reguł. „Na planszy znajdują się: niebo, piekło, czyściec, otchłań, grzech pierworodny, grzechy lekkie, anioły, diabły, święci i Matka Boska.” Wszyscy w większym lub mniejszym stopniu „wyznają chrześcijańską zasadę miłości Boga i bliźniego. Starają się być uprzejmi, mili i wdzięczni za łaski, których doznali, o tyle, o ile pozwala im sytuacja.”

Intuicja jest prosta, choć ironiczna: „wszystko, czego się nie lubiło, było prawdopodobnie dobre, zaś wszystko, co sprawiało przyjemność – aktualnie lub potencjalnie złe”. Zwycięzcom pomagają oczywiście: łaski, pokuta, relikwie, odpusty itd. Sami bohaterowie „zamienili erotyczną energię młodości w naukową pasję. Jeśli nawet zdarzyłoby im się zapomnieć na chwilę i zacząć marzyć o czymś niewypowiedzianym i zmysłowym, to i tak religijne zasady przywołałyby ich do porządku.”

Ta katolicka metafizyka jednakże znika. Nic dziwnego, jeśli do sakramentu przystępują powodowani nie rzeczywistą chęcią, ale z przekonania, że msza jest dla nich dobra i pomocna w nieśmiertelnej grze w „Węże i drabiny” . Taka motywacja się nie utrzyma; ten fundament – nieautentyczności, poczucia winy, strachu przed grzechem i piekłem - jest całkowicie nietrwały.

„Następne pokolenia będą musiały wymyślić coś mniej spektakularnego, za to bardziej tolerancyjnego.”

Bohaterowie znajdują się teraz w „awangardzie wiary.” Czują, jak „dawne mity i dogmaty przestają istnieć. Było to zarówno podniecające, jak i trochę niepokojące.” Muszą odnaleźć własne rozumienie liturgii, moralności, wiary, świętości. Kryzys niezrozumienia wywołany w Kościele przez środki antykoncepcyjne oraz encyklikę Humanae vitae wywołuje w nich rewizję poglądów na zupełnie podstawowe sprawy, takie jak związki między sumieniem a autorytetem, duchem i ciałem, a także między klerem i laikatem.

Od nowa padają kluczowe pytania - Czym jest miłość? Czym jest miłość wzajemna? I dlaczego Bóg uczynił ją tak słodką? Dochodzi do tego podstawowa filozofia wiary - Dlaczego jest raczej coś niż nic? Na co możemy liczyć? Dlaczego tutaj jesteśmy? O co w tym wszystkim chodzi?

Młodzi bohaterowie próbują „sprawdzonych” metod prokreacji, urozmaicają sobie małżeńskie życie, wychowują dzieci, wstępują do klasztoru, wyjeżdżają za granicę, szukają nowych form liturgii, smakują klimatów denominacji, wstępują do grup charyzmatycznych, piszą listy i eseje… szaleją w niepewnym świecie poszukując jakiegokolwiek punktu zaczepienia.

Jak się okazuje, nawet oświeceni i wykształceni, nie jesteśmy wcale tacy odporni (…)

Główne pytanie o istotę i granicę seksu – który określony jest jako „wyzwalające i wzbogacające innych, szczere, społecznie uzasadnione, dające życie, a także radosne” sprowadza się w książce w zasadzie do prostej refleksji: „Niech kopulacja trwa i rozkwita. Ale człowiek nie może nią żyć, nie może też umrzeć z tęsknoty za nią. Dobra nowina dotycząca seksu nie pomoże kalekom, przewlekle chorym, wariatom, brzydalom, impotentom lub starcom, którymi wszyscy będziemy (…).”

Dzieje filozofii pozostają również kwestią otwartą, z zastrzeżeniem, że tak wiele książek jest przekonujących, ale nie wszystkie prowadzą do prawdy:
„Marks namawiał do włączenia się w walkę klas, a Marshall McLuhan do oglądania telewizji. Sartre utrzymywał, że człowiekowi stale towarzyszy poczucie absurdu, ale za to jest wolny, Skinner odmawiał ludziom wolności i uważał, że można ich uwarunkować jak szczury. Chomsky powiedział, że człowiek to organizm do generowania zdań, a Wilhelm Reich, że do generowania orgazmów. Każda książka wydawała się niezwykle przekonująca, ale przecież wszystkie nie mogły być prawdziwe. Austin zastanawiał się, która z teorii jest do pogodzenia z ideą Boga. I czym wobec tego jest Bóg? Kant uważał Go za ostateczne uzasadnienie wszelkich moralnych zachowań, biskup Robinson za podstawę istnienia, a Teilhard de Chardin za Punkt Omega. Wittgenstein zauważył, że jeśli nie możemy o czymś sensownie mówić, to powinniśmy milczeć (…)”

Progresywna (?) albo dążąca do racjonalnego realizmu (?) książka zostawia czytelnika z pytaniem o przyszłość etyki społecznej Kościoła z nowo wybranym Janem Pawłem II – ujętym tu jako teolog, poeta, filozof – konserwatysta. Dziś z perspektywy czasu znamy już odpowiedź. Niezwykle cennym jest jednak przyjrzeć się pierwotnie zadanemu pytaniu - o zmianę podejścia, seksualność, prokreację, sens istnienia reguł i moralną sankcję. Granicę permisywności społeczeństwa.