The novel Ash Wednesday takes a comedic and irreverent look at small town life, sexual mores, and the decline of mainline religion in contemporary America.
When a conservative church secretary learns her son is gay she blames herself and seeks to “cure” him before everyone in town knows his secret. Her boss, a stuffy alcoholic pastor whose contentious parishioners are plotting to fire him, uncovers evidence that his beloved predecessor engaged in an affair with his housekeeper. Another pastor’s innovative approach to ministry results in unparalleled success yet his sexual indiscretions threaten his career.
These individuals’ fates are entangled in a story involving same-sex and sexless marriages, legal and illegal abortions, timely and untimely deaths, and featuring a variety of flawed yet endearing characters.
Excerpt
Ten down, two to go.
Pastor Gerald Schwartz stifled a yawn and leaned back in an armchair covered with cat fur. Without moving his eyes, he snuck what he hoped was a surreptitious glance at his watch. He was feeling gassy from the four chocolate gobs he had consumed in the past half hour. He hoped he could refrain from emitting any embarrassing odors for another few minutes. Not that his current host would notice. Why, he mused, a chocolate-inspired expulsion might be sweetly refreshing compared to the stench of the unchanged litter box presently wafting about Mrs. Hawthorne’s apartment.
“If you ask me—and nobody ever does—this entire country has gone to hell in a handbasket. It’s not like it was when I was a child,” said Mrs. Hawthorne. She had talked nearly nonstop for forty-five minutes. As her pastor, Gerald was privy to every detail of Mrs. Hawthorne’s unremarkable life, from her battle against bunions to the length of her latest stool, and not the kind you sit on, either.
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