A satirical and sometimes surreal take on religion, money and alcohol in modern Ireland.
A huge lottery win is guaranteed to create a buzz in a small Irish village like Ceanngoorley. When the win in question is attributed to a talking statue of the Virgin Mary, greed and superstition collide in a tsunami of hilarious chaos. Will the devious Father O'Hoora prove to be the real winner, or will his grand plans be thwarted by a vengeful bishop and a mysterious American stranger?
Excerpt
"How long since your last confession?"
The sinner took a deep breath, before replying. "Twelve years, Father."
The long finger of O'Hoora's right hand shot to the RECORD button of the tape recorder under his chair. At last! he thought delightedly, a confession worthy of my time. He did not recognise the black hatted man, with bowed head, but his tone rang familiar. Some grave wrongdoing was weighing heavily upon his conscience. A sin that might just win the five-hundred pound prize for Confession Of The Month, at the next gathering of the Clerical Coursing, Shooting and Slaughtering Club.
Most so-called sinners in the parish of Ceanngoorley never actually confessed to anything major and O'Hoora was heartily sick of them. He had heard enough shameful admissions of impure thoughts, bouts of taking the Lord's name in vain and petty thefts to last him a lifetime and a reincarnation or two. Real black evildoings were an all too rare treat.
"Twelve years," he said gravely. "That's a long time. A man can do a lot of sinning in twelve years."
"God, don't I just know it!" the penitent sighed. "It seems there's temptation at every turn. A man can hardly get out of bed without putting a foot wrong. Day in, day out, sin, sin, sin. A saint would be driven to distraction by the temptations I've given into. I suppose I shouldn't have waited so long before confessing."
"Why did you?" asked O'Hoora.
"I just never seemed to find the time to go," he replied. "It's hard to fit in time for God, in my line of business."
"What business would that be?"
"I'm a priest."
Professional Reviews
Bad Faith
Review by: Michael McShane on May. 04, 2010 : star star star star star
Finding this book was like stumbling upon pure gold. I want to be Mike O'Connor's literary agent. This book should make millions. From the setting (Ireland), to the characters (clerical/outlandish and irreverent), to the names (Bishop, Patrick St. Patrick: butler, William Yates: proto-typical American, A.C. Deasey: Italian Cardinals, Luigi Pizzeria and Pepperoni Botticelli: patron saint, Saint Delia the Dyslexic), to the story's common thread (the frenetic and oft-times hilarious scheming of an entrepreneurial and quite randy parish priest), this story moves at breakneck speed via some of the most well-crafted dialogue ever put to a page. The only people who will not enjoy the story are those who can neither read nor laugh; all others beware. If you start this book be sure your calendar is clear for the couple hours it will take to complete it, as you will be riveted to its every word. Congratulations, Mr. O'Connor, well done, well done indeed. Exercise your dominant hand, sir. You'll need the strength for all the autographs you'll be signing.
Bad Faith
Review by: Wade McMahan on Jul. 11, 2010 : star star star star star
"Bad Faith!" offers an intensely humorous, irreverent depiction of Irish culture, more particularly, the Irish clergy. Mike O’Conner has come up with a real winner with this one by providing readers with a here-to-for unopened window into Irish daily life - whether he actually intended to do so, or not. After reading his story, I'll never look at my ancestral homeland the same way again! Funny, funny, funny! I have to agree with Michael McShane, “Bad Faith” rates Five Stars from beginning to end.
