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Father Anselm Mysteries #3
A Whispered Name
A hugely moving and intelligent novel from the bestselling author of The Sixth Lamentation and The Gardens of the Dead, A Whispered Name reaches into the mysteries of one man's past and casts light on the long shadows war leaves behind
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
52 people are currently reading
415 people want to read
About the author
William Brodrick
14 books92 followersWilliam Brodrick was born in Bolton, Lancashire in 1960. Having lived in Canada since he was eleven, he went to school in Australia and England, and went on to take a BA in Philosophy and Theology, then a MTh (Master of Theology) and a Degree of Utter Barrister. Brodrick worked on a logging camp in British Columbia, Canada, before joining the Augustinian Friars (1979-1985). He began his life as a friar in Dublin, Ireland, based on a farm that deployed Iron Age techniques bringing him very close to nature. After several years as a friar, he left the order to help set up a charity at the request of Cardinal Hume, The Depaul Trust, which worked with homeless people. In 1991 he became a barrister. He holds British and Canadian citizenship and is married with three children with whom he lives in France
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
October 13, 2020
”Later in the day, after we’d taken the Ridge, I looked into a crater the size of a lake without water. The clay was blue. Gas from the cordite was still rising from its veins and everywhere lay men with their eyes open, dead men with their limbs bent in strange angles, like clowns...bunkers the size of houses back home, upturned and split open...it was hell without demons or a devil...just smoke and grey uniforms and all these eyes wide open like moons.”
No demons or devil and no God, either.
Father Anselm is tending his honeybees. He is still in the phase of relying on Beekeeping for Dummies when he sees a woman and a doddering old man wandering about the gravestones of the abbey. What they tell him leaves him with more questions than answers and sends him on a quest to discover what exactly happened with his mentor, Father Moore, 60 years ago during the Battle of Passchendaele. ’To keep quiet about something so important...well, it’s almost a lie, wouldn’t you say?”
With such sketchy details, it is difficult for Father Anselm to even begin to decipher the extent of the mystery. He knows that Father Moore had in his possession a set of dog tags that were not his own. He soon discovers that Moore, an officer during the war, had been asked to sit on the board of enquiry regarding the court martial of one Joseph Seosamh Flanagan for desertion. A case that looked fairly straight forward results in a quick decision of death for the defendant, with the thought and hope by the officers on the board that he would be offered clemency by the higher ups.
The only problem is Flanagan is Irish, and those British subjects from the Northern climes, such as Scotland and Ireland, were shot more frequently than say the lads from Leeds or Liverpool. It seems the timing is bad as well, given that the men in the trenches were overdue for a reminder of what happens when one embraces flight instead of fight during a battle. Against the backdrop of a battle that would claim the lives of upwards of 800,000 men, it seems rather innately stupid to be shooting one's own.
The mystery is, why did Flanagan desert? He had been a reliable soldier from the very beginning of the war, despite seeing all the men he originally joined with picked off one by one by all the various ways a man can die in a war. As Moore investigates, he starts to understand that this is not a desertion, but possibly something else. It is more along the lines of a mutiny. It isn’t a rebellion against a government as much as it is a rebellion against the horrors of humanity.
The crater in the German lines that is blown into existence by hundreds of pounds of explosives has a profound impact on the British soldiers who climb the ridge to see the horror that awaits them. It isn’t a moment of jubilation as we might expect; after all, the explosion kills a lot of the enemy. The muck, the blood, the death, the destruction that they have all experienced up to this point is made pale by seeing what man is capable of doing to other men. It is like seeing the devastation from an atomic bomb.
Captain Moore is dealing with his own moral issues beyond just the Flanagan trial, but as it becomes more and more clear that the boy is not going to be saved with a clemency, he becomes desperate to find out the truth behind his disappearance. Flanagan has said he wants a ”death with meaning,”, but it is so unclear how being executed is going to achieve that.
”God of the many things I cannot understand, please save him. Show yourself in this man’s story. Please, I beg you, save him.” It is interesting that this is the moment when Moore decides that he has a higher calling and would become Father Moore after the war. He makes this decision despite the fact that his plea to God falls on deaf ears. Maybe it is about more than just doing good works in the name of God. Maybe he wants to be in a holy place to amplify his daily need for forgiveness for his part in Flanagan’s destruction.
Father Anselm searches through archives and interviews people who knew Moore and knew Flanagan. The pieces of the story are scattered, and some would never be found. He interviews Flanagan’s brother who lives on a small island off the coast of Ireland, the mystical place that Flanagan came from. When the brother describes rowing Flanagan to the shore to join the army...with these hands, he says it as if the strength they had to row his brother away betrayed him.
A soldier when he stands in a row with all the other soldiers becomes a faceless man. He is just a small cog in a great weapon. When he falls in the blood and the muck, the machine continues to sweep over the top of him as if he never existed, but the ripples, not seen, that flow back to those who loved him, leave a lifetime of ache that can never be soothed. Flanagan’s family love him more than they love themselves. He seems just a man during the trial, a faceless man, but when the flesh and bones of his life is revealed to Moore, it becomes clear that Flanagan was a man of integrity. A moral man who expects the system to save him even as it fails him.
William Brodrick tells this story from the perspective of Captain Moore from 1917 and the research of Father Anselm 60 years later. This is a slow burn as are all of Brodrick’s books. This is the third one I’ve read, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them all. The writing is superb, lyrical, and inspiring. Even those reviewers who end up giving the book low marks for the slow pacing admit the book is beautifully written. If you want a thriller, this is not the right book for you, but if you want a small story with big implications spooled out to you slowly and steadily until it slips effortlessly under your skin, then this is the book for you. The story feels more real and, therefore, more horrendous as Anselm follows the ripples of those shots fired at dawn to those who spend a lifetime wondering what it is all about.
The First World War, the war to end all wars, should have been the last war.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
No demons or devil and no God, either.
Father Anselm is tending his honeybees. He is still in the phase of relying on Beekeeping for Dummies when he sees a woman and a doddering old man wandering about the gravestones of the abbey. What they tell him leaves him with more questions than answers and sends him on a quest to discover what exactly happened with his mentor, Father Moore, 60 years ago during the Battle of Passchendaele. ’To keep quiet about something so important...well, it’s almost a lie, wouldn’t you say?”
With such sketchy details, it is difficult for Father Anselm to even begin to decipher the extent of the mystery. He knows that Father Moore had in his possession a set of dog tags that were not his own. He soon discovers that Moore, an officer during the war, had been asked to sit on the board of enquiry regarding the court martial of one Joseph Seosamh Flanagan for desertion. A case that looked fairly straight forward results in a quick decision of death for the defendant, with the thought and hope by the officers on the board that he would be offered clemency by the higher ups.
The only problem is Flanagan is Irish, and those British subjects from the Northern climes, such as Scotland and Ireland, were shot more frequently than say the lads from Leeds or Liverpool. It seems the timing is bad as well, given that the men in the trenches were overdue for a reminder of what happens when one embraces flight instead of fight during a battle. Against the backdrop of a battle that would claim the lives of upwards of 800,000 men, it seems rather innately stupid to be shooting one's own.
The mystery is, why did Flanagan desert? He had been a reliable soldier from the very beginning of the war, despite seeing all the men he originally joined with picked off one by one by all the various ways a man can die in a war. As Moore investigates, he starts to understand that this is not a desertion, but possibly something else. It is more along the lines of a mutiny. It isn’t a rebellion against a government as much as it is a rebellion against the horrors of humanity.
The crater in the German lines that is blown into existence by hundreds of pounds of explosives has a profound impact on the British soldiers who climb the ridge to see the horror that awaits them. It isn’t a moment of jubilation as we might expect; after all, the explosion kills a lot of the enemy. The muck, the blood, the death, the destruction that they have all experienced up to this point is made pale by seeing what man is capable of doing to other men. It is like seeing the devastation from an atomic bomb.
Captain Moore is dealing with his own moral issues beyond just the Flanagan trial, but as it becomes more and more clear that the boy is not going to be saved with a clemency, he becomes desperate to find out the truth behind his disappearance. Flanagan has said he wants a ”death with meaning,”, but it is so unclear how being executed is going to achieve that.
”God of the many things I cannot understand, please save him. Show yourself in this man’s story. Please, I beg you, save him.” It is interesting that this is the moment when Moore decides that he has a higher calling and would become Father Moore after the war. He makes this decision despite the fact that his plea to God falls on deaf ears. Maybe it is about more than just doing good works in the name of God. Maybe he wants to be in a holy place to amplify his daily need for forgiveness for his part in Flanagan’s destruction.
Father Anselm searches through archives and interviews people who knew Moore and knew Flanagan. The pieces of the story are scattered, and some would never be found. He interviews Flanagan’s brother who lives on a small island off the coast of Ireland, the mystical place that Flanagan came from. When the brother describes rowing Flanagan to the shore to join the army...with these hands, he says it as if the strength they had to row his brother away betrayed him.
A soldier when he stands in a row with all the other soldiers becomes a faceless man. He is just a small cog in a great weapon. When he falls in the blood and the muck, the machine continues to sweep over the top of him as if he never existed, but the ripples, not seen, that flow back to those who loved him, leave a lifetime of ache that can never be soothed. Flanagan’s family love him more than they love themselves. He seems just a man during the trial, a faceless man, but when the flesh and bones of his life is revealed to Moore, it becomes clear that Flanagan was a man of integrity. A moral man who expects the system to save him even as it fails him.
William Brodrick tells this story from the perspective of Captain Moore from 1917 and the research of Father Anselm 60 years later. This is a slow burn as are all of Brodrick’s books. This is the third one I’ve read, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them all. The writing is superb, lyrical, and inspiring. Even those reviewers who end up giving the book low marks for the slow pacing admit the book is beautifully written. If you want a thriller, this is not the right book for you, but if you want a small story with big implications spooled out to you slowly and steadily until it slips effortlessly under your skin, then this is the book for you. The story feels more real and, therefore, more horrendous as Anselm follows the ripples of those shots fired at dawn to those who spend a lifetime wondering what it is all about.
The First World War, the war to end all wars, should have been the last war.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
February 7, 2017
William Broderick’s Father Anselm mysteries are my go-to books when I can’t sleep late at night. Strange choice? Ordinarily a mystery would be a last option during an insomnia battle, but these are in a category of their own. Yes, there is an overarching riddle or puzzle to be solved, ‘something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain’ – but the reader is treated to an enigma which also sets him or her to pondering the larger questions of life … and death.
In A Whispered Name an elderly man and his middle-aged daughter come to the monastery in search of a monk who can shed light on a decades old mystery concerning the man’s long dead brother, who was apparently court martialed during World War I. Unfortunately for their quest the monk is long dead. This opens up a case where his own brethren are surprised to learn this saintly priest was among those who condemned this apparently innocent man to death. But wait, no one in the community had ever heard Fr. Herbert Moore ever served in the Great War much less sat a courts martial. Why if that was the case would he have never mentioned such a momentous event in his life to any of his fellow monks? And anyway, was the executed man innocent as the family claim? As Fr. Anselm sets out to investigate, he discovers layer upon layer of events, lives, and deaths, which cross and collide over the years and continue to reveal new truths.
The story is deeply moving as is the beautiful writing style of Broderick. Don’t read this if you are looking for an action thriller. You will be sorely disappointed. But if you like a book which slows you down and makes you think about what matters in life, this book is for you, as are both of the previous books I have read by Brodrick, The Sixth Lamentation and The Gardens of the Dead. I have one more on my shelf and I will save that for another tough night. And I just discovered that the author has written two new mysteries... (deep happy sigh!)
In A Whispered Name an elderly man and his middle-aged daughter come to the monastery in search of a monk who can shed light on a decades old mystery concerning the man’s long dead brother, who was apparently court martialed during World War I. Unfortunately for their quest the monk is long dead. This opens up a case where his own brethren are surprised to learn this saintly priest was among those who condemned this apparently innocent man to death. But wait, no one in the community had ever heard Fr. Herbert Moore ever served in the Great War much less sat a courts martial. Why if that was the case would he have never mentioned such a momentous event in his life to any of his fellow monks? And anyway, was the executed man innocent as the family claim? As Fr. Anselm sets out to investigate, he discovers layer upon layer of events, lives, and deaths, which cross and collide over the years and continue to reveal new truths.
The story is deeply moving as is the beautiful writing style of Broderick. Don’t read this if you are looking for an action thriller. You will be sorely disappointed. But if you like a book which slows you down and makes you think about what matters in life, this book is for you, as are both of the previous books I have read by Brodrick, The Sixth Lamentation and The Gardens of the Dead. I have one more on my shelf and I will save that for another tough night. And I just discovered that the author has written two new mysteries... (deep happy sigh!)
August 31, 2019
The third book in the Father Anselm series, second that I have read. Deeply hidden secrets of the Priory founder, and more importantly Anselm's mentor, become the focus of Anselm's investigation into World War I events Father Herbert Moore featured in.
This is unlike any other book I have read covering the difficult terrain of World War I.
"In order to survive, most soldiers had bottled up their experiences, or changed their way of talking, to make it credible, to bring it properly dressed into decent society. It was the same for Herbert. He said nothing to his brother monks, but he was still haunted by the face of Quarters; he still had to steel himself to watch those eyes vanish in a spurt of mud...Certain tragedies require silence as an epitaph."
Library Loan
This is unlike any other book I have read covering the difficult terrain of World War I.
"In order to survive, most soldiers had bottled up their experiences, or changed their way of talking, to make it credible, to bring it properly dressed into decent society. It was the same for Herbert. He said nothing to his brother monks, but he was still haunted by the face of Quarters; he still had to steel himself to watch those eyes vanish in a spurt of mud...Certain tragedies require silence as an epitaph."
Library Loan
November 26, 2017
Engaging mystery-thriller series with a likable monk [previously lawyer]. One day, keeping his bees at the abbey the good Father Anselm is approached by a young lady, Kate, and old man who implicate the now-deceased Fr. Herbert in a mystery. Herbert had been in the British army in World War I and had been one of the officers at a court martial of a young Irish soldier, Joseph Flanagan, for desertion. What was the meaning of the court martial to the young man? Kate feels there had been a good reason. When Anselm starts to investigate, some of the official papers are missing. Why? The story has several subplots: present-day and the investigation and two in the past involving Joseph and another involving the different officers who pursue his case. The World War I background involves the horrible Battle of Passchendaele.
A real page-turner, a cerebral mystery-thriller. I hope to read more about Anselm by this author. Highly recommended.
A real page-turner, a cerebral mystery-thriller. I hope to read more about Anselm by this author. Highly recommended.
June 21, 2010
When a story covers the horror that was Passchendaele, it takes real skill to make one particular death significant. Brodrick does just that, and more. He gives this death meaning, and a sort of beauty, while gazing clear-eyed on the fear and horror of it.
"A Whispered Name" is the story of a young Irish soldier, and of the people whose lives were interwoven with his. The events of 1917 are threaded through a investigation in the late 20th century (I would have liked to have been given a clearer indication of just when the later narrative was taking place; as far as I could tell, it was the 1990s), with a handful of characters present in both time periods.
A man was charged with desertion, and sentenced to death, because he was for a short time absent from his unit. But something is strange about this case: the narrative told by its paper trail has too many blanks. These absences of information begin to look deliberate. Through the eyes of Brother Anselm In the present day, and through a gradual unfolding of events in 1917, we discover what led to the decisions that determined Joseph Flanagan's fate in 1917, and the lasting effects of that fate on many others.
I sometimes had difficulty keeping track of all the named soldiers, and I never quite understood Seosamh's motivation for enlisting. But those are small reservations. For the prose that's so often musical, especially when it's of and about the Irish characters, and for the stark evocation of place and time, this story will long stay with me.
"A Whispered Name" is the story of a young Irish soldier, and of the people whose lives were interwoven with his. The events of 1917 are threaded through a investigation in the late 20th century (I would have liked to have been given a clearer indication of just when the later narrative was taking place; as far as I could tell, it was the 1990s), with a handful of characters present in both time periods.
A man was charged with desertion, and sentenced to death, because he was for a short time absent from his unit. But something is strange about this case: the narrative told by its paper trail has too many blanks. These absences of information begin to look deliberate. Through the eyes of Brother Anselm In the present day, and through a gradual unfolding of events in 1917, we discover what led to the decisions that determined Joseph Flanagan's fate in 1917, and the lasting effects of that fate on many others.
I sometimes had difficulty keeping track of all the named soldiers, and I never quite understood Seosamh's motivation for enlisting. But those are small reservations. For the prose that's so often musical, especially when it's of and about the Irish characters, and for the stark evocation of place and time, this story will long stay with me.
March 25, 2018
I found this book on the library shelf. It was one of those rare times when a cover intrigued me and so did the description on the flap. I liked this book not for the reasons I expected (a main character who's a monk!), but because of the mystery itself: it was set during WWI. While I've read a lot of books about WWII, this book took me into the trenches in France and while it was hard to read some of the scenes and imagine the loss of life, I'm glad I read it.
I also did enjoy Fr. Anselm and his fellow monks. I liked the descriptions of the rhythm of their lives and the way those rhythms were disrupted.
I'm definitely intrigued enough by this book to try others in the series. Given that I've nearly caught up with Louise Penny in the Gamache novels, I could use some more good mysteries in my reading life.
I also did enjoy Fr. Anselm and his fellow monks. I liked the descriptions of the rhythm of their lives and the way those rhythms were disrupted.
I'm definitely intrigued enough by this book to try others in the series. Given that I've nearly caught up with Louise Penny in the Gamache novels, I could use some more good mysteries in my reading life.
November 16, 2012
Here is how I know I'm reading something special: the closer I get to the end, the slower I read it because I want to savor it. The Father Anselm series started out being billed as a mystery, but the time of the second and third, that switched to a novel. That is appropriate because if you take this up, as I did, as another in a series of mysteries, you may not be prepared for a serious novel of the mystery of how one makes meaning in one's life, all stemming from WWI. Simply a splendid novel. Be prepared for war and peace.
August 3, 2010
Slow moving book but one that packs a strong emotional wallop. Father Anselm starts to try and unravel a WWI case to understand what really happened in the process of uncovering what happened he lays bare a deep, emotional and fresh story of the cruelty and heroism of WWI.
A great book highly recommended.
A great book highly recommended.
February 20, 2011
Really amazing story that made me think about it a lot even after I finished the book...The beginning didn´t catch me much, but it turned out to be a very remarkable story from World War 1, bringing out the questions about the morals, humanity, good and evel being turned upside down in the times of war, with a bit of mystery and suprising turns...
August 5, 2020
There are so many aspects of World War 1 that can shape a novel and take its reader to a time and a place that few can imagine. The event that took place in this novel may have been fictitious but is based on a reality that I find difficult to understand. While the subject saddened me I found myself gripped by the story as it unfolded.
dnf
January 4, 2016Big yawn from page 1
May 17, 2021
The first 5 star I’ve given I think. Read. This. Book.
I was so moved and impressed by this, I gave it to a poet.
All the cliches about brilliant WW1 writing just aren’t applicable and couldn’t describe this Damning, tragic and uplifting novel.
Buy. Borrow. Read.
I might just have to buy another copy so that I can sift through it again.
I was so moved and impressed by this, I gave it to a poet.
All the cliches about brilliant WW1 writing just aren’t applicable and couldn’t describe this Damning, tragic and uplifting novel.
Buy. Borrow. Read.
I might just have to buy another copy so that I can sift through it again.
September 21, 2014
This is the third book featuring Father Anselm. This time he finds himself looking into the trial of a soldier for desertion during World War I in which his mentor at Larkwood Monastery, Herbert Moore, was involved as part of the judging panel. After a visit to the monastery by a mysterious young woman seeking answers from Herbert (who had recently passed away), Father Anselm feels he has to try to find the truth as no-one seems to be aware that Herbert had even served in the Army - why has he kept this hidden? As Anselm's investigations continue, it is apparent that something is not right - vital papers are missing from the official files. The story jumps back and forth in time, from Father Anselm's investigations in the present day to WW1 and the circumstances around the trial portrayed movingly against the backdrop of the incessant slaughter of the Passchendale offensive in 1917. Some great twists and turns as Anselm gradually teases out what really happened and why. Gripping read. 9/10.
October 13, 2016
This is the first book I have read by William Broderick and while I enjoyed it up to a point and acknowledge he writes beautifully and with great skill, there are reasons why I decided on four stars only. It began well and I became absorbed by the early chapters but eventually I found for me that the story became increasingly complex and too detailed for me so that I found myself skipping pages. The book seems over long and slow, so much that I began to gradually lose interest in the mysteries surrounding the backgrounds of the two soldiers on trial for desertion. They seemed to drag on too long. Nevertheless this is a purely personal opinion and I will definitely try the other unread books by this author still sitting on my bookshelves..
May 1, 2017
Compelling, moving, poetic - what a wonderful book. As is often the case, Father Anselm is faced with a number of moral dilemmas, while digging into the court martial proceedings of an Irish soldier fighting with the British Expeditiary Force in France in the last year of the First World War.
But his dilemmas seem quite minor when set off against the dilemmas facing the other protagonist of this mystery, Father Herbert Moore, who fought in the war himself and was forever marred by it. Trying to discover what happened and why finally brings clarity and peace to Anselm.
Brodrick's language is mesmerising, both his legal and religious background come to the fore, but his strength lies in the carefully thought-out phrasing - an absolute joy for lovers of the English (and Gaelic) language!
But his dilemmas seem quite minor when set off against the dilemmas facing the other protagonist of this mystery, Father Herbert Moore, who fought in the war himself and was forever marred by it. Trying to discover what happened and why finally brings clarity and peace to Anselm.
Brodrick's language is mesmerising, both his legal and religious background come to the fore, but his strength lies in the carefully thought-out phrasing - an absolute joy for lovers of the English (and Gaelic) language!
June 19, 2019
Really 4.5 stars. A fabulous book, a mystery about war and redemption, with more than an echo of the great Catholic novels like Georges Barnanos’ Diary of a County Priest. And it works as a tightly plotted mystery. The Catholic spiritualism of the last 30/40 pages could have been omitted, and the book much improved — as it does gets a touch soggy there. Broderick, though, is a fine writer.
January 6, 2010
A fabulous novel which I found very hard to put down. It was incredibly thought provoking, terrible moving and at the same time very spiritual. It should definitely stand up there with the well know First World War novels as it opens your eyes and teaches you a great lesson. Magnificent!
February 8, 2015
Fascinating insight into the minds of those fighting in the First World War, desertion and the process behind court martial. As with his other books there is a poeticism underlying the unravelling of the mystery and the consequent story telling.
May 4, 2014
A good book to read to mark the commemoration of the Great War this year - an insight into battlefield executions, the treatment of the Irish and the inglorious reality that was this monstrous war.
May 8, 2014
Difficult ,slow read.
Another one of our book club reads ie a book u wouldn't otherwise choose or read.
Another one of our book club reads ie a book u wouldn't otherwise choose or read.
October 13, 2020
My goodness! I finish this wonderful book and then find out there are more books with Father Anselm at the heart. An amazing novel full of grace and hope. My own father was in the army in WW2 and he absolutely hated the army. I think his gentle heart loathed the brutality of barked orders, total obedience and a civility masking a deep cruelty designed to keep men in check. When as a teenager, I heard that the British Army shot their own soldiers in WW1, I was horrified. Also proud that Australian soldiers fought proudly and well without the threat of execution by their own comrades. The story of a sacrifice akin to that of Sydney Carton is told in the story of an Irish Private Joseph Flanagan who gives his life to save another. I loved the intersecting links between the religious lives of Fr Anselm, his fellow priest, Herbert Moore and that horrific judicial murder so many years ago. Another brilliant novelist to now follow. Joy!
March 14, 2023
This was a really well written, thought provoking, intelligently written mystery, which also was profoundly written in a way that made you think of the nature of life and the sheer horror of being a soldier fighting in the trenches and on the front line in World War 1.
Brodick also used his legal expertise to give you an insight in to the legal goings on when it came to trying a soldier for desertion. He does this in a way that is interesting for the lay reader like me and didn't descend in to legalese.
All the characters in the book are really well drawn and captivating and Father Anselm becomes an even more interesting and multifaceted character than in the previous books in this series.
The way the mystery is slowly unravelled holds the readers attention and there is just enough pace in the story to hold the attention of the reader, but not too fast so that the reader loses track.
The conclusion is fitting and perfectly rounds off the book.
I'm a fan of Brodrick's writing and out of the three Father Anselm books I've read, all of which I have enjoyed, I would say this is by far and away the best.
Brodick also used his legal expertise to give you an insight in to the legal goings on when it came to trying a soldier for desertion. He does this in a way that is interesting for the lay reader like me and didn't descend in to legalese.
All the characters in the book are really well drawn and captivating and Father Anselm becomes an even more interesting and multifaceted character than in the previous books in this series.
The way the mystery is slowly unravelled holds the readers attention and there is just enough pace in the story to hold the attention of the reader, but not too fast so that the reader loses track.
The conclusion is fitting and perfectly rounds off the book.
I'm a fan of Brodrick's writing and out of the three Father Anselm books I've read, all of which I have enjoyed, I would say this is by far and away the best.
November 27, 2017
William Brodrick is not as well known and appreciated as I should wish. But he cannot be everyone’s cup of tea. His “mysteries” are not “thrillers.” No gratuitous violence or sex. No hackneyed plots, no derring do.
His prose is poetic. I find whole passages and paragraphs best read aloud as soliloquies.
A Whispered Name contains not just the “mystery” of Joseph Flanagan or Owen Doyle. Moral quandaries clash with military justice. Secrets that last beyond the grave yield redemption
As with his first book, The Sixth Lamentation, A Whispered Name will be on my mind for some time to come
No, Brodrick might not appeal to the reader who seeks the momentary escape of a “beach novel” or something one picks up at a newsstand at an airport. Dare I say he is a “thinking person’s writer”?
His craft is called literature.
His prose is poetic. I find whole passages and paragraphs best read aloud as soliloquies.
A Whispered Name contains not just the “mystery” of Joseph Flanagan or Owen Doyle. Moral quandaries clash with military justice. Secrets that last beyond the grave yield redemption
As with his first book, The Sixth Lamentation, A Whispered Name will be on my mind for some time to come
No, Brodrick might not appeal to the reader who seeks the momentary escape of a “beach novel” or something one picks up at a newsstand at an airport. Dare I say he is a “thinking person’s writer”?
His craft is called literature.
June 4, 2018
This is, I think, Brodrick's finest book of the six he has written. It is written in the usual format, with Anselm investigating a problem from the past with little to go on from the written record. In this case, the past is very personal, involving one of the founders of Larkwood, Herbert Morton, an old monk whom Anselm was assigned to assist when he had first entered the monastery.
The heart of the book is what happened in WWI that Herbert was a participant in. The battlefield was the salient at Ypres at the worst part of the slaughter that went on there. A soldier was accused of desertion and court martialed, with Herbert being one of the officers. It is a fine exposition of the ambiguities of life, death, and responsibility in war. It is also a wonderful story of trying to make sense of meaning in such a chaotic situation. The characters are all intriguing.
The heart of the book is what happened in WWI that Herbert was a participant in. The battlefield was the salient at Ypres at the worst part of the slaughter that went on there. A soldier was accused of desertion and court martialed, with Herbert being one of the officers. It is a fine exposition of the ambiguities of life, death, and responsibility in war. It is also a wonderful story of trying to make sense of meaning in such a chaotic situation. The characters are all intriguing.
March 12, 2021
Admittedly I know little of WWI and more to the point, do not typically read books that are set during the Great War so it was the beekeeping protagonist is what drew me to this Father Anselm thriller. Perhaps after reading and enjoying this novel I will expand my horizons. William Brodrick writes beautifully and the irony of a priest-turned-lawyer (and writer) writing about a lawyer-turned-priest only increased my enjoyment of this novel. However, A Whispered Name is a difficult novel to summarize so I leave you with my favorite line in the book: "Herbert, you are forgiven. But you have wounds that will never heal. They are part of your loving. Use the suffering, your immense suffering, to heal others."
I now desire to go back and read the first two novels in this series.
I now desire to go back and read the first two novels in this series.
February 27, 2021
Although this is described as a mystery, it is much more than that. It is a great presentation of history, a meditation on good and evil, and a challenge to readers about conscience and finding peace. It was also well-written, with excellent descriptions. Yet I struggled with the book. It seemed too long, and having the chapters alternate between past and present with frequent penultimate resolutions of the “mystery” made it a tough read. I put the book down many times during the time I was reading it. Still, I’ve recommended it to my husband who doesn’t generally read fiction but is fascinated by WWI.
November 8, 2016
Ideally I would have given this 3.5-4.
I did enjoy the book and learned a lot about the treatment of "deserters" during WW1. Although the writing style is perfectly fine, I did find the back and forth between current day and the war a bit difficult at times. This may well be due to my memory and having to try to remember what had happened previously during the WW1 chapters, having read a few current day chapters.
PS. You don't need to have read the previous books in the series to enjoy this one.
I did enjoy the book and learned a lot about the treatment of "deserters" during WW1. Although the writing style is perfectly fine, I did find the back and forth between current day and the war a bit difficult at times. This may well be due to my memory and having to try to remember what had happened previously during the WW1 chapters, having read a few current day chapters.
PS. You don't need to have read the previous books in the series to enjoy this one.
September 11, 2017
In previous reviews I admitted that I wasn't yet totally convinced by this series, yet this latest book I've read was outstanding. It takes us back to the horrors of World War I, when one soldier sacrifices himself for another. I sometimes get annoyed when an author has 3 or even 4 narrative tracks running at the same time, but here Brodrick pulls the strings together beautifully. It is an intense reflection on love, sacrifice, and second chances. It is certainly no fairy-tale ending, but neither is it an anti-war screed. It is realistic and purposeful. And inspiring.
February 20, 2018
So different to the Bosch and Smiley series’s I like so much. Refreshing to read though with the trail and progression so much depending on long memories and aged evidence. I need to read the other Anselm ‘thrillers ‘.
Anselm personnel issues are nil compared to Bosch. With the exception of the last le Carré novel, Anselm is different to Smiley in that, in this case, the events are of a bygone time.
Maybe I shouldn’t compare with them but these are the only other ‘series’ I hang with.
These notes are for recording my own gratification and I assure you will be of no value to anyone.
Anselm personnel issues are nil compared to Bosch. With the exception of the last le Carré novel, Anselm is different to Smiley in that, in this case, the events are of a bygone time.
Maybe I shouldn’t compare with them but these are the only other ‘series’ I hang with.
These notes are for recording my own gratification and I assure you will be of no value to anyone.
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