Old God's Time

January 2, 2023
In the knotty latest from Barry (A Thousand Moons), a retired police officer’s solitude is disrupted by a decades-old case involving sexually abusive priests. Tom Kettle, 66, has been off work for nine months and is living on the property of a Victorian castle overlooking the Irish Sea when two detectives arrive asking about the priests. Kettle spurns their questions, but after they leave, his mind is frazzled. He thinks his daughter has visited, then remembers both of his children are dead, along with his wife, June, whose memory he “cradled... as if she were still a living being.” Distraught, he attempts suicide but is interrupted when the police chief arrives to request his help with the case. It turns out one of the priests died long ago, and the police are interested in what Tom knows. As he begins cooperating, he remembers that June told him she was raped as a young orphan by a priest. Tom’s struggle with his failing memory makes the gradual reveals about June and their children all the more unsettling, and the mystery of his connection to the case involving the priests all the more intriguing. The gorgeous writing and unreliable narration make it hard to put down this rewarding take on love and grief. Agent: Natasha Fairweather, RCW.