Morte D'Urban

MORTE D'URBAN
by J.F. Powers

 Award: National Book 1963

 Date Read: July 28, 2019

 Morte D'Urban is a comic novel that follows the blunderings of Father Urban, a charismatic, yet isolated priest who holds no one particularly close. He joined the church young, enraptured by his mentors' lifestyle, rather than an outsized devotion to God. The Church delivered on all those things Urban held dear - fine dining, opportunities to meet influential people and ego massaging as others' sought out his oratory abilities.

 The rug is pulled out from under him as his elder reassigned Urban to a remote and dilapidated foundation in rural Minnesota. Within hours of his arrival, Urban is put to manual labor to convert the foundation into a retreat for the faithful. 

 Urban's own faith is never made very clear except, perhaps, his faith in himself. He clearly holds himself in high regard. In one of his first sermons in Duesterhaus, he encourages the congregation to not take the Pope's word on everything.

 The fun begins when Urban advocates and establishes a golf course that abuts the foundation, creating a bizarre mash up of an upper crust pastime and a Catholic retreat. No sooner than the course is completed than problems begin to arise.

 Morte d'Urban was a very fun read, providing insight for this non-Catholic into the delicacies of church sanctioned activities, what the church expects in return and the lengths gone to woo parishioners. Having been written in the 60s, there are generous helpings of racism and sexism that don't age particularly well.

 Looking Forward: Wheat That Springeth Green 

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