Book of the Month - By Kathleen Thorne
Be Near Me
By Andrew O'Hagan
Published by Faber and Faber
Price €10.99
The protagonist in this novel, David Anderton, is a Catholic priest in the parish of Dalgarnock in Ayrshire, Scotland. He tells us the story of his life before, during and for a little while, after his move to Dalgarnock.
He was born into a comfortable, middle-class English family. His father was a doctor and his mother is a successful writer of fiction. He has a close relationship with his mother. His reason for choosing to be in Scotland is to be near her.
His childhood is privileged with loving, well-to-do parents. He is educated in Ampleforth - a Catholic public school in Yorkshire. Later he goes to Oxford where he enjoys the company of a particular set of students called the Marcellists, because of their interest in Proust. Amongst their number is a man called Conor. David falls in love with him. Their relationship thrives for a time, but ends in tragedy.
In a kind of rebound decision, he chooses to become a priest. Flawed though this decision is, he serves for 29 years as a priest in England before seeking the move to Scotland.
His friend Bishop Gerard sends him to the working class Dalgarnock where unemployment is high and social problems are rife. In addition to his parish duties there, he chooses to involve himself in the local second-level school.
In the school David befriends a young pair called Mark and Lisa. Culturally they are light years removed from his world. But he is drawn towards them - especially towards Mark, who willingly leads him into his seedy, amoral experiences. Of course it ends in disaster, but also in a kind of resolution for David. In a way, he probably had been seeking this.
This is a satisfying book in that it so clearly demonstrates the contrasts between cultures in a modern, western democracy. The estate where Mark lives is described, "there was nothing beautiful and nothing of human history on the estate, just an immoderate acceptance of life's low standards, and a desire for state benefits and babies."
David's privileged background is underlined by an event which took place during a festive day at Ampleforth. His mother hired an elephant for him to make a grand entrance at the location of the festivities.
By contrast, years later the young people of Dalgarnock describe a visit to a Mosque where their media-derived prejudices prevent any possible understanding of Muslim culture.
David's housekeeper, Mrs Poole, is a conscientious, idealistic woman. She provides some balance to our view of Dalgarnock, which is such a dark, depressing place. Be Near Me explores many issues facing western society today. It elucidates, but offers no solutions. It is about the reality of the individual in the midst of life's demands and complexities. Complexity is here in all its shapes, from culture clash to prejudice, racism and bigotry.
David is caught, victim-like, in the trap of life's tinder box. How does he cope? When his crisis arises, he is scrupulously true to his own integrity. Through him and other characters, Be Near Me exposes vulnerabilities in such a way as to make an understanding of our society a little clearer.
