BSO Book Club - Pastoral

There were plans for an official welcome. It was to take place the following Sunday. But those who came to the rectory on Father Pennant's second day were the ones who could not resist seeing him sooner. Here was the man to whom they would confess the darkest things. It was important to feel him out. Mrs Young, for instance, after she had seen him eat a piece of her macaroni pie, quietly asked what he thought of adultery. André Alexis brings a modern sensibility and a new liveliness to an age-old genre, the pastoral. For his very first parish, Father Christopher Pennant is sent to the sleepy town of Barrow. With more sheep than people, it's very bucolic—too much Barrow Brew on Barrow Day is the rowdiest it gets. But things aren't so idyllic for Liz Denny, whose fiancé doesn't want to decide between Liz and his more worldly mistress Jane, and for Father Pennant himself, who greets some miracles of nature—mayors walking on water, talking sheep—with a profound crisis of faith. Village Books has partnered with our friends at the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra to offer reading recommendations that tie into the theme, the music, or the composers or each Symphony concert this season. Mention the book group and receive 15% off the recommended reads at Village Books. Use code TAKE15 to save when ordering concert tickets online. What goes better with books than a glass of wine? Seifert & Jones are back for another season with wine pairings for the BSO Book Club. Check out last season's pairing here!