Poor Souls (Paperback)

Poor Souls is an account of American Catholic parish life, laced with subtle, yet probing satire, as told through the eyes of seminarian Martin Flanagan. Set in the Diocese of Covert at the Parish of Our Lady of the Poor and Forgotten Souls in Purgatory, Catholics and non-Catholics alike will delight in Hyacinth, the ever-vigilant, long-time parish housekeeper; Pastor Emeritus, Father Boniface; the irascible and irreverent Father Jack Ash; and a host of other dysfunctional souls. Beyond the sanctuary, Poor Souls reveals a great mix of sin and grace among broken believers. "An unexpected revelation of life in the seminary and parish, McMullen reveals the very human lives of Roman Catholic clergy knowingly yet lovingly. McMullen's novel is so real it will make you laugh and cry at the same time. Uproariously shrewd and marvelously told." - Doug Chambers, The Joshua Decree "POOR SOULS gives the reader a rollicking tale of seminarians and priests in their service of the church. McMullen, writing as an insider, masterfully strikes insightful chords of humor without resorting to ridicule."- Clark Gabriel Field, The Celibate "Poor Souls is unpretentious; it doesn't aim at the high drama of a Graham Greene or the fetching mystical aura of Diary of a Country Priest. The intention of the author is to 'highlight the ordinary, and indeed the sinful, as being transformed by grace into something worthy of God.' It employs the banality of everyday living to convey the Catholic element without ever resorting to signs and wonders or, worse, 'pious-speak'." - Leo Madigan, Literary Critic