by Michael Arditti (Author)
Michael Arditti's magnificent novel is both a devastating portrait of today's Church of England and an audacious reworking of the central myth of Western culture. Taking the form of a traditional triptych, it is at once intimate and epic, lyrical and analytic. Shocking events unfold against a backdrop of meticulously observed religious services. High Church ritual, evangelical revivalism and the ancestor-worship of the English gentry are all subjected to merciless scrutiny.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 311
Edition: New edition
Publisher: Arcadia Books
Published: 09 Apr 2001
ISBN 10: 1900850540
ISBN 13: 9781900850544
'Arditti's masterpiece and one of the first important English novels of the century'
* Literary Review *'Easter is a masterpiece'
* Time Out *'A huge book written with wit, compassion and a sharp critical eye. The writing is packed with daring imaginative leaps. Apart from Arditti's brilliant comic skills, there is a deep moral core.'
* Financial Times *'It's a delight to find a modern novel that takes religion and all the objections to it seriously as a subject: the rockpool of a London parish teems with all kinds of curious life'
-- Philip Pullman * Sunday Times *'Arditti writes about Western Christianity, as it is manifest in the present Church of England, with pungency and satirical frankness. His style has Joycean echoes. Against a background of the conventional liturgies he places awful actualities in the lives of preachers and practitioners'
-- Muriel SparkMichael Arditti was born in Cheshire and lives in London. He has written two highly-acclaimed novels, The Celibate and Pagan and her Parents. He is a regular contributor to the literary pages of the Daily Mail, the Express, The Times and the Independent, where review coverage is guaranteed.