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Prince Of Peace: An Epic War Novel of a Korean POW Turned Priest Confronting Church Corruption in the Vietnam War
"So rich and vital it leaves you breathless." — Chicago Tribune From the writer of Mortal Friends and Family Trade , a sweeping tale of struggling with God, country, and the religious ignition of the 60s' anti-war movement in this thrilling novel of faith, truth, and honor. Michael Maguire, a Korean War vet, enters the priesthood in an attempt to do some good in the world, after suffering in a POW camp for more than 2 years. But once the war in Vietnam breaks out, his clashes with the hierarchically-minded members of the church—which is evolving into a body with political ambitions of its own—sending him into rebellion not only against the diocese but the law. It's a sweeping tale not only of the divisions plaguing American Christianity - especially Catholicism - but of the difficulty of parsing, when pulled in so many directions, right and wrong.
544 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
38 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
James Carroll
144 books162 followersJames Carroll was born in Chicago and raised in Washington, D.C. He has been a civil rights worker, an antiwar activist, and a community organizer in Washington and New York. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1969 and served as Catholic chaplain at Boston University. Carroll left the priesthood to become a novelist and playwright. He lives in Boston with his wife, the novelist Alexandra Marshall, and their two children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
May 2, 2020
With bookstores closed due to the pandemic, and Amazon deliveries (even with Prime) delayed, I searched my bookshelf for a book to read a second time. I first read "Prince of Peace" when I received it as a Christmas present in 1984, the year of its publication. Its central story is about a Catholic priest and the impact of the Vietnam War upon his life. With the war still essentially a "current event" in 1984, only nine years after the shooting had stopped, the book really resonated. It still does, as its story really could be set in any era in which outside forces interject themselves into the lives of ordinary people. This novel is about a friendship, it contains a moving "love triangle," and it conveys what to me feels like much of the essence of Roman Catholic theology. It also served, to a certain extent, as an autobiographical look at a man who left the priesthood, as the author did earlier in his life. And, yes, it is about the war in Vietnam, although most of it is set in the United States as a young priest attempts to resolve in his own head and heart how best to use his position to bring about and end to what he believes is an evil conflict, one that both his country and his church had a role in creating. My only "complaint" about the book is that its narrator is the priests best friend, but this best friend is someone who apparently has the power to see into the innermost feelings and thoughts of the priest. At times the narrative switched from things that could only be seen clairvoyantly to things that the narrator was right in the middle of. I suppose that literary license comes into play here, but since most of what I read is history, I found the shifting perspective a little confusing at times. But this is a relatively small complaint about a book that really captures the intensity of the feelings of a group of people during a very dramatic and divisive time in American history.
September 2, 2016
Whew!
A beautifully written but, for me at least, a powerfully sad one to experience as well, for it brought back in an emotionally-laden rush so much of what I experienced as an Irish-American Catholic in the time of the Vietnam war. Not only was this a time of immense destruction and loss of life, but it was -- again, for me -- a time when I now realize I began to lose my faith both in the dream of a decent and noble country and in a wise and just Church.
Carroll, himself a former priest, tells his story well. His characters are fully realized and multi-dimensional, and his telling faithfully recalls so many of my own experiences within the Church, and with other members -- clergy and laity alike -- of the Catholic Church.
This book is both a "great read" -- and, therefore, should be appealing to all who enjoy being immersed in others' stories -- and a faithful and powerfully wrought evocation of a time that shaped -- and changed forever -- the lives of so many Americans and Catholics.
If you want to "be there," or simply want to better understand this crucial and sad time in American history, pick up this masterful book. You will find yourself quickly disappearing into not only the thickets of Vietnam's jungles, but also into the swamps of flawed human nature.
A beautifully written but, for me at least, a powerfully sad one to experience as well, for it brought back in an emotionally-laden rush so much of what I experienced as an Irish-American Catholic in the time of the Vietnam war. Not only was this a time of immense destruction and loss of life, but it was -- again, for me -- a time when I now realize I began to lose my faith both in the dream of a decent and noble country and in a wise and just Church.
Carroll, himself a former priest, tells his story well. His characters are fully realized and multi-dimensional, and his telling faithfully recalls so many of my own experiences within the Church, and with other members -- clergy and laity alike -- of the Catholic Church.
This book is both a "great read" -- and, therefore, should be appealing to all who enjoy being immersed in others' stories -- and a faithful and powerfully wrought evocation of a time that shaped -- and changed forever -- the lives of so many Americans and Catholics.
If you want to "be there," or simply want to better understand this crucial and sad time in American history, pick up this masterful book. You will find yourself quickly disappearing into not only the thickets of Vietnam's jungles, but also into the swamps of flawed human nature.
June 8, 2013
A real page turner. . . a long read, but worth the time and effort. I loved it!
May 15, 2021
As a historian who teaches the Vietnam War for a term course, this book's "on the ground" empathy and storytelling was simply outstanding. As an author who wants to see how a former priest writes a priest, I appreciated the full humanity and conflict going on in the main character, Michael.
The POV from a character who did not witness all events in the book required some suspension of disbelief, but I am not sure the author could have done it differently. Carroll still hooks the reader on every character, yet I think we needed some mystery for Michael (hence Frank's POV).
The POV from a character who did not witness all events in the book required some suspension of disbelief, but I am not sure the author could have done it differently. Carroll still hooks the reader on every character, yet I think we needed some mystery for Michael (hence Frank's POV).
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December 11, 2020Well he burbles on in places and you have to be able to connect with all the Catholic angst, but since that isn't a problem for me, I loved it. It gave me a really good sense of the US during the Vietnam war.
August 14, 2008
This make you think of anything?
"The Korean war could have saved us. . . .
"If we'd learned from it, Korea could have saved us from the moral and political suicide we committed in Vietnam. Will future generations remotely understand what led America to squander her glory, wealth, moral position and the cream of her youth in distant conflicts of no true international significance, and to do so not once but twice?"
How about thrice? This novel was published in 1984, and I'll bet I've had it on my shelf since '85, often thinking I should read it. I was always aware of its presence, though after a decade or two I started thinking it was a history rather than a novel. But I never imagined it could be so timely. I was finally inspired to read it after seeing the documentary Constantine's Sword, based on a nonfiction exploration of the Catholic Church, anti-Semitism, and war by James Carroll, who is also the main talking head in the film.
It's not a great novel--Carroll's more a craftman than a stylist--but it is a very good one, and if I were to fill in the recommendation box, I'd say Catholics, Baby Boomers, and especially Catholic Baby Boomers.
"The Korean war could have saved us. . . .
"If we'd learned from it, Korea could have saved us from the moral and political suicide we committed in Vietnam. Will future generations remotely understand what led America to squander her glory, wealth, moral position and the cream of her youth in distant conflicts of no true international significance, and to do so not once but twice?"
How about thrice? This novel was published in 1984, and I'll bet I've had it on my shelf since '85, often thinking I should read it. I was always aware of its presence, though after a decade or two I started thinking it was a history rather than a novel. But I never imagined it could be so timely. I was finally inspired to read it after seeing the documentary Constantine's Sword, based on a nonfiction exploration of the Catholic Church, anti-Semitism, and war by James Carroll, who is also the main talking head in the film.
It's not a great novel--Carroll's more a craftman than a stylist--but it is a very good one, and if I were to fill in the recommendation box, I'd say Catholics, Baby Boomers, and especially Catholic Baby Boomers.
September 9, 2011
Another one of those unintended Book-of-the-Month-Club purchases from 1984. While it sat on the shelf I thought is was non-fiction, but found I was wrong when I started to read it. A fictional study of one man's desperate attempts to reconcile his Roman Catholic beliefs with the atrocious situations in which loyalty to his nation placed him. Based on the titles of other books written by Carroll (both fiction and non-fiction), Roman Catholicism seems to be a dominant concern in his life, and indeed this book bogs down in religious detail at times, but is rescued by a gripping story line and intriguing details about the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam.
February 1, 2009
The strength of this book lies in that it reads more like memoir- so much so that I had to keep googling to see if the personal events in this novel actually took place (as far as I can tell, they didn't). Carroll writes persuasively on the role that the Catholic Church played in urging the United States towards involvement in Vietnam, and it is clear that his knowledge is more than speculative. I loved the way Carroll writes about both the Catholic Church and the United States- the way you'd write about your family if you love them tremendously, but want them to heal themselves.
October 27, 2023
James Carroll's novel mostly centers on the 1960s and touches on large themes: disillusionment in Vietnam and in the Catholic Church, the struggles of being a priest in a rapidly changing society, the conflict between morality and obedience in hierarchical institutions, and the life-altering pleasures and pains of love, friendship, and betrayal.
The book begins with 1st-person narration by Frank Durkin, a Catholic lay monk sequestered in Israel in the summer of 1982. Durkin exiled himself after his marriage fell apart around 1970 when Carolyn, his wife, and Father Michael Maguire, his best friend, engaged in an affair that blew Durkin's world apart. Now, Michael, who subsequently married Carolyn, has died and Durkin's daughter arrives in Israel to beg Durkin to return home to New York for Michael's funeral.
Durkin recedes into the background as the book becomes Michael's life story, tracking the charismatic, honorable Korean War hero as he becomes a Catholic priest and rising star in the Church. Michael's story is told in the third person by Durkin, putting the reader at some remove from Fr. Maguire but also reflecting the mystery of our main character, who is idolized to some extent by Durkin but struggles with his priestly vows of submission, obedience, and celibacy.
I expected a page-turner and perhaps some predictable melodrama among the Irish Catholic set but this book is better than that. Carroll delves most deeply into the trauma of Vietnam and Maguire must confront the war between his own ideals and the harsh reality that his Church superiors have no interest in challenging the prevailing military and political regimes. The author frames the Vietnam conflict as not only a Cold War struggle but an internal one between Catholics and Buddhists for political hegemony in the war-torn region. Maguire's aim to help the victims of war, particularly the children, is stymied by the propaganda interests of both the U.S. and South Vietnamese regimes. His church offers little help or moral support; the book indeed submits that Cardinal Spellman and the Catholic hierarchy fully backed U.S. war policy and blinded themselves to the suffering.
Carroll mostly maintains a sober tone, with Maguire eventually embarking on a lonely antiwar crusade that forces him to break with his Church and adopt a fugitive lifestyle after conviction for nonviolent resistance-related crimes. On a personal level, his personal despair drives him into the arms of Carolyn, shattering the marriage of Durkin and Carolyn and leaving grievous damage in its wake.
I found both the personal and broader stories involving and intelligently rendered. Maguire is the hero, but his personal struggles and flaws also are manifest. The wounded Durkin is sometimes a bitter narrator, but does his best to understand and forgive. After Michael's death, Durkin's emotional exile might cease and some reconciliation with Carolyn might be possible, the book's conclusion suggests.
Carroll mostly avoids the stereotypes associated with the Irish Catholic milieu and every character, including the villains of the piece, is fleshed out. Although there's not much humor, there are moments of wry acknowledgment by Durkin and Maguire of the gulfs between Catholics and WASPs, parochial schools and Ivy League, and more broadly, between Americans and the foreigners they seek to influence and control. Carroll vehemently criticizes the Church, but not the impulses that draw people to religion, the quests for faith, hope, and love.
A better and more thoughtful book than I expected....
The book begins with 1st-person narration by Frank Durkin, a Catholic lay monk sequestered in Israel in the summer of 1982. Durkin exiled himself after his marriage fell apart around 1970 when Carolyn, his wife, and Father Michael Maguire, his best friend, engaged in an affair that blew Durkin's world apart. Now, Michael, who subsequently married Carolyn, has died and Durkin's daughter arrives in Israel to beg Durkin to return home to New York for Michael's funeral.
Durkin recedes into the background as the book becomes Michael's life story, tracking the charismatic, honorable Korean War hero as he becomes a Catholic priest and rising star in the Church. Michael's story is told in the third person by Durkin, putting the reader at some remove from Fr. Maguire but also reflecting the mystery of our main character, who is idolized to some extent by Durkin but struggles with his priestly vows of submission, obedience, and celibacy.
I expected a page-turner and perhaps some predictable melodrama among the Irish Catholic set but this book is better than that. Carroll delves most deeply into the trauma of Vietnam and Maguire must confront the war between his own ideals and the harsh reality that his Church superiors have no interest in challenging the prevailing military and political regimes. The author frames the Vietnam conflict as not only a Cold War struggle but an internal one between Catholics and Buddhists for political hegemony in the war-torn region. Maguire's aim to help the victims of war, particularly the children, is stymied by the propaganda interests of both the U.S. and South Vietnamese regimes. His church offers little help or moral support; the book indeed submits that Cardinal Spellman and the Catholic hierarchy fully backed U.S. war policy and blinded themselves to the suffering.
Carroll mostly maintains a sober tone, with Maguire eventually embarking on a lonely antiwar crusade that forces him to break with his Church and adopt a fugitive lifestyle after conviction for nonviolent resistance-related crimes. On a personal level, his personal despair drives him into the arms of Carolyn, shattering the marriage of Durkin and Carolyn and leaving grievous damage in its wake.
I found both the personal and broader stories involving and intelligently rendered. Maguire is the hero, but his personal struggles and flaws also are manifest. The wounded Durkin is sometimes a bitter narrator, but does his best to understand and forgive. After Michael's death, Durkin's emotional exile might cease and some reconciliation with Carolyn might be possible, the book's conclusion suggests.
Carroll mostly avoids the stereotypes associated with the Irish Catholic milieu and every character, including the villains of the piece, is fleshed out. Although there's not much humor, there are moments of wry acknowledgment by Durkin and Maguire of the gulfs between Catholics and WASPs, parochial schools and Ivy League, and more broadly, between Americans and the foreigners they seek to influence and control. Carroll vehemently criticizes the Church, but not the impulses that draw people to religion, the quests for faith, hope, and love.
A better and more thoughtful book than I expected....
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August 21, 2024Through the eyes of Catholic priest Michael Maguire and the narrator (his friend Frank Durkin), the rise and fall of Catholicism in American and abroad is chronicled. It also shows the rise and fall of Vietnam (the country, its religions and its people). It focuses on the rise and fall of Father Michael’s belief in the Catholic Church and its infallibility, as well as his support in the policies of the American government. The author portrays the country of South Vietnam as a protégé, a virtual creation of the United States and the Catholic Church. Is this true? I don’t know very much about Vietnam and the war, so can’t parse out the accuracy of some of the story.
September 25, 2019
Meh. 3.5 stars. It took awhile for this book to get going. And I kinda wish the narrator had focused more on Michaels story than trying to prove his own worth and relevance to it. But overall once things got moving the story flowed well and the characters were very likable.
December 24, 2017
I love this author.
February 11, 2018
591 pages
June 6, 2018
Not much to say about this one.
June 23, 2019
I loved the theme of this book, being Vietnam-Era veteran, but was anyone else bothered by the superfluous use of the "f" word that was out character for the protagonist in the book?
August 8, 2020
Absolutely loved this book. It was my first lengthy volume and I enjoyed it immensely.
December 16, 2008
This was an interesting perspective on the Vietnam War and gave some insights on the Catholic faith. I really liked the way the book ended, with hope. Here's a quote from p. 530, "We were the Church, that throng gathered in memory. We had been remembering ourselves, becoming part of each other once more. This had been the work of Michael's ghost and the work - Ah Bright Wings! - of the Holy Ghost. That alleluia there and then outweighed all unfinished business, every anathema and each harbored wound of betrayal. That alleluia outweighed what we had done or not done, what we had lost, had found or had forgot. That alleluia outweighed death. Yes, we believed in the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting. Into life everlasting we had gathered to commit our friend. Into life everlasting we wanted to release him."
June 3, 2012
I read this book when it first was published in 1984, having picked it up at the library because its cover reminded me of MASH. Helicopter, low hills... and it was about Korea and Vietnam. That's not a lot to go on but it intrigued me. By the time I finished, I knew I had to own it. I think it's best not to read much about it before you read it, because there were certain turns of the story that caught me quite off balance.
It's a passionate and compelling exploration of what happened in this nation during the Korean and--especially--Vietnam conflicts, and the ending left me breathless. I am not a Catholic, but examination of the role of the Catholic Church in Vietnam also fascinated me, and was woven into the story gracefully.
The hardcover still is on my bookshelf. I think it's time to reread.
It's a passionate and compelling exploration of what happened in this nation during the Korean and--especially--Vietnam conflicts, and the ending left me breathless. I am not a Catholic, but examination of the role of the Catholic Church in Vietnam also fascinated me, and was woven into the story gracefully.
The hardcover still is on my bookshelf. I think it's time to reread.
October 19, 2015
Over the summer I read the book Prince of Peace, by james Carroll. The plot of this book was different and that is what really tied me in. The book was filled with suspense and mystery, and that's what I like in a book. What I didn't like about the book was the length, I feel like there was a lot of unnecessary information scattered throughout the book. This book met my expectations because I knew that the book was gonna be long, and I also knew that the book was gonna be very interesting. The intended audience is anyone with a lot of time on their hands because it is long and you really need to focus on what is going on in the book, some parts are very confusing. Someone who likes this book would probably like the Taken movies, with Liam Neeson. Overall I thought the book was fairly good, but I would like to read it again so I can try to understand the confusing parts.
December 16, 2009
It took me longer to read this than I expected -- maybe longer than it required. It has the epic sprawl of a 1980s mini-series - Michener over Wouk times Colleen McCullough -- about Vietnam.
At the centerpiece are an Arthur/Lancelot (Peter/Jesus) struggle of loyalty and betrayal. The characters strive to be about Big Ideas, but in the end betrayal is always based on something small, petty, and human.
Carroll chose a first person narrator to tell a 3rd person story, which distracted me often but was mostly forgettable. The characters are more told than shown, and some of the dialogue does not come easily. But it had a way of recatching me just when I might have lost interest. I am recommending.
At the centerpiece are an Arthur/Lancelot (Peter/Jesus) struggle of loyalty and betrayal. The characters strive to be about Big Ideas, but in the end betrayal is always based on something small, petty, and human.
Carroll chose a first person narrator to tell a 3rd person story, which distracted me often but was mostly forgettable. The characters are more told than shown, and some of the dialogue does not come easily. But it had a way of recatching me just when I might have lost interest. I am recommending.
September 6, 2009
I had mixed feelings about this book --- mostly I loved it but I had a huge objection to one part of it. The review of it, complete with Spoilers, is on my blog at: http://parlezmoiblog.blogspot.com/200...
One thing I found interesting since I read this right after re-reading Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow: the nun whose character I object to in this book is named Sister Ann Edwards. In The Sparrow, which was written some fifteen years later, the married woman/scientist who befriends the priest in that book is named Ann Edwards. Curious...
One thing I found interesting since I read this right after re-reading Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow: the nun whose character I object to in this book is named Sister Ann Edwards. In The Sparrow, which was written some fifteen years later, the married woman/scientist who befriends the priest in that book is named Ann Edwards. Curious...
October 31, 2014
This turned out to be a good book. It started off interesting and then dragged for a while and picked up in the end. It is the story of two Irish boys growing up in NYC, the different paths they took and the impact Catholic religion and the Viet Nam war had on their life. Neither fought in the Viet Nam war, but one was a Korean war veteran. He had a lot of trouble reconciling the Catholic religion and their position on war. I think I missed a lot of the subtle messages because not being familiar with the religion or church structure.
May 13, 2009
A powerful, moving story of personal relationships, faith, and self-understanding as affected by war. This book offers great insight into a soldier's perspective and how one's faith challenges one's views of war. An interesting critique of American government and military and church doctrine and hierarchy. I'm definitely more affirmed in my pacifist views after reading this. I couldn't put this book down and read it in 3 days!
August 20, 2013
After reading 240 of 530 pages, I finally gave up. It wasn't that I didn't like the book; I just didn't like it enough to continue reading when I have so many other alternatives. I have read some of Carroll's other novels and also some of his non-fiction and enjoyed them more than this one. So I just gave up!
April 19, 2007
If reading this book doesn't change your life, you need to re-read it.
August 1, 2007
Jim Carroll's treatise on peace, in novel form...lengthy, but the overwhelming feeling of spiritual grounding upon finishing was well worth carrying it around for two weeks
September 11, 2009
A great novel which centers around a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. An easy read
July 11, 2018
A great deal of the author's sense of the backstory of the origins of the Vietnam War.
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June 7, 2012slow
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews