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Father Alberto and the Flying Girl by Timothy X Atack review
A parish priest cares for the mentally afflicted in an absorbing tale that combines antic comedy with serious moral themes
TL;DR
- Father Alberto arrives in 1474 southern Europe as the new parish priest, tasked with tending to the mentally afflicted at the convent of Saint Particular.
- He encounters a cast of unusual inmates, including a carpenter, a naked woman, and a mute girl who attempts to fly.
- Alberto proposes a Christian study of madness, seeking humane ways to help the inmates recover after the annual Feast of the Holy Fool.
- His methods, such as letting a carpenter repair the church and calming a horse through singing, are met with resistance from the Abbess.
- The novel uses an illustrated book of Angelo's life, told retrospectively, as a narrative device to illuminate the story and its themes.
- The story is a moral fable highlighting kindness and grace against abuse of power and lack of human sympathy.