On March 16, 2020, 5 days after the World Health Organization declared the pandemic and commerce was closing down, 6 of us met at Barnes & Noble to discuss the classic by Graham Greene, The Power and the Glory. This was likely the last or one of the last appearances inside a public building made by any of the 6 for quite a few weeks.
Once it became obvious that Book Club would be changed at least temporarily, we got together on Zoom for a virtual discussion, just to test the Zoom format and to get together. We were not scheduled to discuss any book, but some members who had not attended the meeting about The Power and the Glory wanted to discuss it.
Comments first centered around the gloomy atmosphere of the story and the weaknesses portrayed in this excellent writer's characters. Thus, the characters were strongly portrayed as having a lot of weaknesses in their characters!
No characters in the book were likable. The alcoholism was somewhat typical of books from mid-century America, before alcoholism became recognized. The lengths to which characters went to procure alcohol gave the author plenty of anecdotes for the story.
Dennis tied up the conversation with a positive spin, saying that though the priest wasn't a good priest, by the end of the book there were indications that the church still influenced people's lives.
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