by David Lodge
First published 1980
Dennis, Michael, Angela, and their circle of Catholic friends face the collision between traditional teaching and modern life in 1960s England. As Vatican II reshapes their church and the sexual revolution transforms society around them, these young adults struggle with questions their parents never had to ask. Dennis wrestles with his vocation while attracted to worldly pleasures. Michael questions papal authority on birth control as he starts a family. Angela discovers that good Catholic girls face impossible choices between desire and doctrine. Their monthly discussion group becomes a battleground where abstract theology meets concrete human needs. Lodge follows his characters through marriages, careers, and crises of faith as they test how far they can bend religious rules before something breaks. The novel captures a generation caught between the certainty they inherited and the freedom they crave, asking whether faith can survive honest questioning.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, academic, catholic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, friends-to-lovers
Setting: England
Period: 1960s
243 pages · Hardcover · Random House UK
Content warnings: sexual-content