Lovers

Penning a controversial article got Tom Connor, a Roman Catholic priest, banished to Kilcronan. The young people of this backward region--considered the ``arsehole of the diocese''--leave in droves. However, Tom likes the place and its inhabitants, an inimitably Irish blend of kindness and toughness. It bothers him that for two years he has been concealing his affair with his live-in ``housekeeper,'' Marion Warde. When Tom and some of his parishioners are in Dublin seeking Parliament's help for their dying community, Marion learns she is pregnant, and the priest who ``had never taken the vow of celibacy very seriously'' learns just how serious it can be. That Tom is a good but imperfect man enhances the tale, but when this should matter most--when he has to think through difficult questions about himself and his faith--Standun, himself a priest, sidles by the issues with a cliched comic scene between a cunning rural couple and an unwelcome government agent. Without that internal showdown, the tale will still appeal to readers interested in the issues of rural Ireland or celibate priests, but probably only to them. (Sept.)